When Past Meets Present
by Fruipit
Summary: When the Gaang meet up four years after the end of the War, everyone has changed in some way - drastically, in the case of Toph. What has happened to her in the two years since she spoke to any of them to cause such a change? What was the purpose, and who is pulling the strings? Will anyone stand up and fight for her, or will she be left alone again?
1. Changes

**[Insert Disclaimer Here]**

* * *

Walking through the Upper Ring of Ba Sing Se, Aang was actually able to fully appreciate the beauty of the wealthy city. And the perks of being the Avatar. He had managed to get a room in a beautiful hotel, out of the way and not too busy. The best part was that it was located only several streets away from the Jasmine Dragon, his current destination. Holding Katara's hand, he looked up at his 18 year old girlfriend, smiling.

"I can't believe how much time has passed," she told him wistfully, remembering all they had achieved since the end of the war.

"I can't believe it's taken us four years for the whole group to meet up. It's going to be amazing seeing everyone all in one place again." He gave her a shy glance, and the smile, if possible, became bigger. "We need a break from repairing the temples, even if it _is_ a lot of fun. I can't believe how many secret passages there were!"

"You should invite Toph there. I'm sure she would love it, she didn't get a chance to explore the Western Air Temple last time."

"...We'll see. She might have plans already. She might be betrothed, and have a life, or maybe she started up that Earthbending Academy. I mean, after she stopped writing, I'm not sure how much she wants to see me..." He averted his eyes, quickly changing the subject. "And what about Sokka, have you heard from him?"

Katara's smile was so huge, it looked as though her face would split in half. She let go of his hand to cover her mouth, amazed she had forgotten to tell her boyfriend the news.

"Yeah, apparently Suki is expecting! He's so proud. I actually got the letter just before we left the Air Temple, but I was too distracted. She's few months along, so I guess he was distracted too. Bringing in the Kyoshi Warriors to replace the Dai Li... I mean, it makes sense, but its such huge task!"

The couple turned a corner and saw Iroh's tea shop halfway down the street. Grabbing her hand again, Aang began running down the street. He couldn't wait to see everyone, see how they had changed. He knew that he and Katara were the last to arrive - he had been required to stop by the Earth Palace to tell Kuei that he was off the grid for the next week or so. He didn't want anything interrupting his first vacation in four years.

Running up the stairs, he could see the tea shop had been closed to the general public, giving his friends some much needed privacy. It was difficult to go anywhere when he and his friends were always harassed for autographs or stories. It was nice, but sometimes it was too much. Pulling Katara along behind him, he walked through the customers area and past the kitchen until he arrived at the staff lounge. Stopping at the doorway, he could see that everyone seemed to be there except for Toph. The first person he saw was Zuko, reclining on the lounge with Mai in his arms, his eyes shut. Sokka was at the desk with Suki, this time pouring over a piece of parchment full of numbers. He was muttering to Suki, "if we don't spend money on mangoes or fan and sword polish, we can afford another two weeks off when the baby comes," and had yet to notice them. Then there was Iroh, predictably playing Pai Sho with a woman who looked slightly older than Aang.

He was a little confused. "I thought this was just for the Gaang?" Katara whispered to him. The girl looked familiar, but Aang was sure he would have remembered seeing a girl like her before. He may be in a relationship, but he was still a guy. Sensing a disturbance, Zuko opened his eyes, and was the first to notice the Avatar and Waterbender.

"Aang! Glad you could make it - we were beginning to think you'd forgotten about us," Zuko stood up from the lounge, soliciting a small grunt of dissatisfaction from his fiancé.

"Of course we made it! And you can expect us at the wedding in a few months, too," Katara moved forward to hug the 21 year old, noticing how tall he had become. The scar on his face had faded to a dull orange, just a few shades different than his normal tone. He had kept his hair long - a reminder of the best time of his life, he told them later - but there was no mistaking the regal way he carried himself now.

Hearing Zuko's exclamation, Sokka had stood up, moving to clasp his sister and Aang.

"Katara! Aang! How you guys going?"

"We're great, Sokka," Katara answered for the both of them. "Wow, you look so different, have you lost weight? And look at that moustache! I can't believe its only been what, five months?"

Aang looked over his old friend. Sokka had filled in, growing into his looks and leaving the boyish features behind. The same could be said of Suki, who had moved over to join them, hand placed protectively over her slightly rounded stomach. Both warriors sported higher cheekbones than when they were younger, their eyes thinner and faces leaner.  
''It's amazing how becoming a parent matures people'', Aang thought with a smile.

"And Suki!" The waterbender moved to hug her sister-in-law. "Now I know what a 'healthy pregnant glow' looks like." The two giggled, and moved to sit next to Mai, who had the smallest of smiles watching the two talking so animatedly. She made room on the lounge, and began asking Suki and Katara a few questions. The two were slightly surprised at her involvement, but accepted her gladly.

Aang pulled Zuko away from the door, moving closer to Iroh.

"Zuko, where's Toph? I kind of hoped she would actually come... I thought she'd at least want to see you guys..."

Zuko cocked his head, giving Aang a small smile.

"She is here, Aang, you just didn't notice," he told the young Airbender, his smile fading at the words Aang had used but growing bigger as he replied to his friend. Aang looked around, his eyes dancing from Sokka, arms protectively around Suki as she explained the joys of morning sickness to Katara, whose smile, if possible, had become even larger. He noticed Mai participating in the conversation, a little at first but more and more as she grew comfortable around the girls and Sokka. He looked back at Zuko, eyebrows raised. The Fire Lord just gave him an encouraging smile, nodding to Iroh's Pai Sho game. Aang noticed the General's look of concentration, and then the game itself. He could see that tea maker was having difficulty staying ahead of his companion. The Avatar finally let his gaze rest on her. She was only his age, her hair framing her face as the rest flowed down her back, the top straight but with a slight curl as it progressed down her back. She was wearing long, loose fitting pants, the dark green contrasting wonderfully against her alabaster skin. Her stomach was bared as she wore a top that barely hid her bindings. He noticed she had a massive scar running across her stomach, from her right hip to just under navel. Moving closer, he could see that she wasn't looking at the game. Well, she was, but that was all. She wasn't searching possible exploitative moves, wasn't watching her partner sweat it out, trying to read his motives.

"Toph?" He asked the girl, surprised.

"Nice of you to finally notice me, Twinkletoes," she replied, moving her cherry blossom tile. "And that's game, old man," she told Iroh with a grin. He threw his hands up in mock despair.

"Ah, no! Mistress Toph, I will beat you one day," he said with a smile as he cleared the board before making his way into the kitchen, probably to make some tea. Zuko followed his uncle, leaving the two teenagers alone. Toph stood up from the table, approaching her old friend. He smiled at his old friend, even if she couldn't see it. She was still as short as ever, and petite, he noticed. She hadn't filled out as much as Katara had, but she was still perfectly proportional. She stopped barely a foot away, nodding her head up and down, seeming to look him over. She grinned a lopsided smile, and Aang noticed her fingers went to touch the lighter flesh of the strange scar of their own accord. He doubted she even realised that she was doing it.

"Uh, Toph? Are you okay?" he asked her as she shook the bangs from her eyes, the smile not leaving her delicate features. He noted, though, that it barely extended past her lips.

"I'm fine, Aang, what makes you ask?" She asked him, realising she was rubbing the scar and abruptly dropping her hand.

"Oh, uh, no reason, I guess." He rubbed the back of his bald head, and called to Katara.

"Katara! Toph is here! Look how different she is!" Aang grabbed his earthbending teachers hand and lead her to where everyone was seated. His girlfriend jumped slightly in surprise.

"Toph? Is that really you?" Katara looked at her incredulously.

"Why is everyone so surprised? Has my hair changed colour or something?"

"Uh, no... It's just that... Well, we haven't heard from you in so long... You look like a girl..." Katara finished lamely. Toph raised an eyebrow and placed her hands on her hips, a small frown appearing on her face.

"You mean, I'm not allowed to look like a girl? You mean, I don't already look like one?" The younger girl sneered at the older one. Katara fumbled, trying to explain herself without further offending Toph.

"I just meant that you are looking very... Feminine. It's different. It looks nice!" Katara rushed to make amends, surprise written in her eyes at how sensitive Toph was being. The blind girls' frown was replaced with a smirk.

"Why, thank you, Sugar Queen, that's very nice of you to say." She moved to sit back down at the Pai Sho table. Aang followed her, unsure of how to act around her. She had changed, but he wasn't sure into what.

"Come on, Twinkles, try and beat me," she commanded, pointing slightly above the opposite chair.

"I uh, I kinda wanted to talk to Sokka and Suki... I haven't seen them in almost 6 months!" Toph glared at the nervous avatar.

"And we haven't spoken in 2 years."

"Yea, well, Suki is pregnant. Pregnant!" He was slightly annoyed at her. Why was she pressing this? Didn't she realise he didn't want to play Pai Sho at the moment? He didn't want to be around her for too long, not until she apologised. Toph was scary at the best of times, but now her entire personality seems to have been readjusted, she was terrifying. Aang didn't know how to act around her and was nervous that the last time they had spoken would come into the conversation should he be alone with her. He wasn't ready to deal with her yet.

"Whatever. Go talk to Fangirl about little people then." She shooed him away with a flick of her wrist.

* * *

The seven friends decided to go out to dinner that night. After all, Katara refused to cook, and seeing as how no one else could make stewed sea prune soup, lotus flower salad, komodo chicken casserole or a flattened rice bread like her, they agreed that they deserved a night off from any form of duty. The group chose a special restaurant in the upper ring which had been built on the site of their previous accommodation - after the Gaang had vacated the house, nobody could be bothered fixing the property, so it had been sold to a wealthy entrepreneur. He had built a restaurant in honour of Team Avatar, named Guójiā, and served food from all the nations. It had become one of the most popular restaurants in Ba Sing Se, reservations having to be made for it several months in advance. It had been rumoured that even the Earth King had left his palace to visit it.

Of course, for the war heroes, getting a seat was no problem at all.

Arriving at the building, they moved their way to the front of the queue, ignoring the cries of indignation. Toph could feel Aangs heart going a million miles; he obviously never cut in line before. He had originally balked at the idea, but after some persuasion from Sokka (and after seeing the size of the line), he had given up, choosing to ignore the little voice in the back of his head. The seven friends entered the packed restaurant, appreciating the homey atmosphere and warmth. Zuko went first, holding the door open for Mai, and then relinquished the wooden frame for Sokka to hold for his pregnant wife. Following behind Aang and Katara, Toph didn't feel the door swing back to its original position, inadvertently hitting her in the face - he hadn't held it open long enough for her to slip inside.

Crying out, Toph stumbled slightly, holding her nose. She could hear the laughs and jeers of the people still waiting in line - they thought it hilarious, karma for pushing in. Face burning, she pushed her way inside, running into Aang as she did so.

"Woah, watch out, Toph," he told her, without the usual joking demeanour. He wasn't even worried, or trying to pretend everything was fine, not when he didn't have to. She growled under her breath - she had thought he would be upset, but this was ridiculous - it had been over two years!

"I would, except I can't see. There are too many people, the vibrations are blurring everything." She gave him a slight nudge. "You're going to have to be my eyes, at least until we get to the table."

She could feel him fidgeting, not wanting to take her hand to lead her. Eventually, she made the decision for him, reaching out and touching his shoulder before moving her hand down his arm to his fingers. Aang still held onto Katara's hand, and he was pulled along by the waterbender as the rest of the group moved further away. Sandwiched between the two benders, he had only taken a few steps before he heard the voices.

"Who does he think he is? Two women?"  
"Shameful..."  
"The Avatar ought to have more pride than that."

As though he had been shot with lightning, Aang jerked his hand out of Toph's, whispering in her ear before moving away.

"I can't, people are staring. Just concentrate on my footsteps..."

Toph had no idea where he went; he seemed to have forgotten that he had the lightest footsteps she had ever felt. She couldn't see him, but she could hear him, laughing with Katara at something Sokka had said. Her hearing wasn't as sensitive as it use to be, she couldn't hear what he had said that was so funny. Growling softly under her breath, she marched over to the group, not caring whether she ran into anyone or anything. Luckily for her, or the other patrons of the restaurant, she managed to avoid running into anyone else, although she stubbed her toe on a chair leg. Cursing under her breath, the blind earthbender reached the table as a waiter was giving out menus.

Sitting at the head of the table, Toph gently slid her foot over the smooth stone floor, memorising the seating arrangement. The thrill of seeing her friends after four years had long since worn off, leaving her feeling empty. Really, she had only been happy that day when she was versing Iroh on the Pai Sho battlefield. Her features betraying none of this emotion however, she noted that Aang was on her left, Katara on her right, holding hands over the earth table - the only one in the room; the rest were made of wood. She frowned slightly at this, as she had managed the catch what the seedy waiter had whispered to her. "For the blind girl". She hated him for talking down to her, but everyone else didn't even seem to notice his words. Sokka and Suki sat next to Aang, cooing over the Kyoshi Warrior's stomach, and the Fire Royals sat next to Katara, discussing some matters of the nation. She knew of their achievements, she had kept an ear out, but she decided that being a good friend meant talking about things that she already knew, or that were boring. This was both. She vaguely wondered if they had kept an ear out for her too. Probably not. Taking a leap, she decided to find a little out about Katara first. Perhaps there was something personal that hadn't found its way to her ears. She knew of Yu Dao, the planned United City, and the repair work that had gone on in the four Air Temples. She knew that the Kyoshi Warriors had taken over the Dai Li, and Sokka and Suki were both advisors to the King. She also knew the Zuko's mother had been located, despite all the secrecy. She knew that Azula was getting better with regular treatments of both herbal remedies, and spending time, for the first time ever, with the woman who had birthed her. She knew all this about her friends, and more. How much did they know about her, though? Not that she would tell them anything, but maybe someone kept an ear out. She couldn't ask directly though, no she would have to question them to see if they question her.

"So, Sweetness. What's been going on for you since the war?"

"Oh, it's been fantastic! We, I mean, Aang and I, we went travelling again. You know Chin village? Its a little town, right near Gaoling, actually. We spent some time there for Avatar Day. It took two years, but a few months ago Aang finally managed to convince them to start cooking their food again! And I went home for a while. I missed Gran-Gran, and dad was heading back there anyway. You know Master Pakku sent waterbenders to the Southern Tribe? I even got to teach a few. of course it was only the basics, but he brought down the really young ones, so they are only at the basic level - they're gonna grow up as Southern Water Tribe members! Even though they're only just starting, they're really good, and there are even some girls! I mean, they aren't as good as Aang when he first started, but they're getting there," she gushed, barely pausing for breath. Toph was about to ask another question, when she was interrupted by the young Airbender.

"Was I really that good?"  
"Are you kidding me?! I was jealous of you!"  
"But why? You're so amazing at it, I thought-"

After attempting several more times to engage in a conversation, Toph gave up. She decided to focus on the Fire Lords life, curious as to how life as a noble was treating him. And what he thought of it.

"So, Zuko, what's running a nation like?"

"Well, its difficult. I've never had an opportunity to learn this when I was younger, so I'm playing it by ear. Thank goodness no one can argue against me. If I chose, I could make the national colours pink and our emblem a baby koala sheep. I won't, but having the ability is fun." He laughed, and Toph joined in half-heartedly before Zuko continued. "It's also a little scary. What if I screw up? I don't think I could cope some days if Mai weren't here, supporting me." He smiled at his fiancée, who in turn gave him a small kiss that soon turned into something more. Making a show of dry retching, Toph turned back to Aang and Katara with the intention of asking Aang how he was doing, but soon discovered they were playing footsies under the table when one of them (Katara, perhaps) kicked her in the shin. Scowling, she turned to Sokka, who was rubbing Suki's stomach and making cooing noises at it, while the Island Warrior giggled. Sighing, she was about to stand up, when the waiter delivered their food. If the rest of the night was a drag, at least Toph could say that the food was perfect. Picking up her chopsticks, she brought her gourmet dim sum to her noise, smelling the delicate flavour.

"Toph, are you using cutlery? Like... Not using your fingers?" Aang's question surprised her, and she dropped the small object.

"Uh, yeah, I am. I wan-"

"Aang, you have to try this, it's amazing! ... No, it doesn't have meat in it..." Toph was cut off by Katara shoving some form of vegetable into her boyfriends face. Sighing, Toph gave up trying to located the recently dropped dim sum and pushed her plate away. Suddenly, she didn't feel very hungry. She turned her head to listen to the conversations around her. Sokka was talking to Zuko about the difficulty he had faced attempting to get the Dai Li to leave. Apparently, it was because of an agent named Yuhan that they succeeded in bringing in the Kyoshi Warriors in the first place.

"... Didn't agree with Long Feng for a long time. Apparently, but you didn't hear this from me, Long Feng turned the chick he loved into a Joo Dee. I don't know how it ended though... Poor bloke."

Toph opened her mouth to say something, but thought better of it. She no longer cared about being part of the conversation; at least, that was the lie she told herself.

Standing from the table (barely increasing her height from sitting), she mumbled something about going to the bathroom. She knew they weren't listening. Making her way slowly out of the horribly packed restaurant, she went out the back and earthbent herself onto the roof, feeling the vibrations of everyone inside. Katara was now sitting on Aang's lap as he fed her food (she nearly gagged at this), while Sokka and Suki were still talking to Mai and Zuko.

Laying on her back, she looked up at the night sky with unseeing eyes, feeling them fill with tears. She stopped bending, stopped feeling the world around her - all that mattered was that she was alone. Although, it had never mattered how many people she was surrounded with, she was still always alone.

For the third time in her life, and the first in two years, Toph let the tears fall down her face.

* * *

"Well, that was absolutely fantastic. But the sea prunes could have been a little fresher..."

"Shut up, Sokka, it was cooked perfectly," Katara retorted, hand resting luxuriously on her full stomach.

"Hey, guys?" Aang's voice appeared above the murmurings of dozens of other restaurant goers. Faces turned to his as he gulped guiltily.  
"Where did Toph go?"

"She hasn't been gone that long, has she?" Sokka sat up and looked around, before lying back in his chair. "She'll be fine, won't she? This is Toph we're talking about, right? She loves being alone. The packed restaurant probably got on her nerves." He looked relaxed, but he was slightly scared for the younger member of the group. She had been uncharacteristically quiet ever since she arrived. The only words she had spoken to the Water Tribe Warrior was "I found Space Sword." She had refused to give it to him though, laughing a high-pitched laugh that was so unlike her, she told him he had to wait until the end of the week to get it back. Scowling, Sokka forgot all about being worried for her, and focussed on annoyance that she refused to give him his greatest creation, save for the child in his wife's womb.

"Yeah..." Aang was visibly uneasy. He hadn't ever really seen Toph on her own. She seemed so independent and self assured, but he had a feeling that inside, she was as lost as he had been when he ran away from the Southern Temple. After all, he had never seen her on her own. She was always, always around, even if it was just on the edges of the camp, the group. It was not after the war ended that she was separated from the group. Not that he would display anything, but Aang hoped that at least one other member of their group had written to her, especially after he began ignoring her. He can't have been the only person to stay in contact, could he? Aang pushed her out of his mind when Katara poked him, sending him the smile she reserved only for his eyes.

Dessert came and went, the table filled with tension as they wondered where Toph had gone. No one wanted to be the one to find her, and face her wrath if she were angry, though. Eventually, Aang made an executive decision.

"I'm going to see if I can find her, okay guys? I won't be long." By using his basic seismic sense, only Aang had the slightest chance of locating the bender if she didn't want to be found. Standing up, he made his way to the entrance of the restaurant, already preparing to use his earthbending. He was nowhere near as skilled as his master, but he had a feeling he wouldn't need to search out her heartbeat - he would just need to look for her in a random, obscure place. Stomping his foot, he could feel her strong heartbeats on the roof of the restaurant. Slightly surprised, he airbent himself up, landing gently several feet away from her.

"Go away, Aang." Her voice was horribly small, and Aang was astonished at how different she was. The strange clothes were bad enough, but even her attitude had changed, from loud-mouthed, abrasive, crude Toph, to soft, gentle, nice Toph. She looked so vulnerable, lying there on the roof. It made him wonder exactly what she went through in the last two years that his own stubbornness had stopped him from seeing.

"Why did you leave? We were worried!" Aang asked her, moving towards the still earthbender. She sat up, looking slightly to his left.

"Stop. Right there, stop moving. I don't want to be near you right now."

"Toph, you're the one who came up here, who didn't tell us what's wrong. Generally that means people are hurting more than they let on. You didn't even punch me today for what happened last time we spoke," Aang reasoned, not quite understanding what was happening.

"Maybe I wanted to forget, or forgive or something. Isn't that what you airbenders are always on about? And what's wrong with the clothes, can't a girl wear something that makes her look like a girl? Can't she try something new? Did you think of that? Maybe I'm tired of being rough-around-the-edges Toph. Maybe I want to be likeable! Maybe I wanna be like you!" She was standing up now, her voice getting louder as she became angrier.

"I don't want you to be like me," Aang told her. "I want you to be like you. Like Toph. Why did you change? Tell me what you're feeling..."  
She snorted derisively.

"How do you think I feel, Aang, being forgotten, being ignored? Sokka and Suki are here, training a new generation of Dai Li, _good_ Dai Li. You and Katara travel the world, sorting out conflict wherever it arises, building _cities_! And Zuko, good, kind Fire Lord Zuko has brought a ferocious nation down on its humble knees without needing to resort to drastic measures. I haven't had contact with any of you in years. Years! I tried after that fight. I apologised, and begged and pleaded, and you never replied, not once. Eventually, I gave up. What was the point if you didn't want to talk to me? I know what people say about me. 'The avatars blind teacher, poor thing. He must have found a better one, because he just left her at home. I wonder what became of her, she must hide away shamefully because she hasn't done _squat_ to help people.' Hah, and for all you know, they're right!"

She stood up from her spot on the roof, turning her entire body to face the airbender.

"Zuko invited you, didn't he?" Aang nodded his head numbly, at a loss for words. He had never seen Toph like this. She was mad, angrier than he'd ever seen her.

"Well, he didn't invite me. Neither did you, nor Katara, or Sokka or Suki. It was Iroh, and he only mentioned it in passing. Nice to know what my friendship means to you all," she was standing on the roof at this point, yelling at him.

"Why do you think I'm so 'dolled up'? Because I don't want you guys to forget me! Well, I didn't forget you. You have no idea what my life has been like. You know, I actually let my father announce that people could court me. I thought that maybe I could at least meet someone new, maybe someone I liked! My dad relaxed a lot when I went home. He actually did want what was best for me; he gave me my freedom. So, I let him announce my availability, and he let me chose. You know how many replies we were 'swamped' with? None! No one wants to carry a pitiful blind girl, even if she is - was - one of the Avatars closest friends, and a master bender." Aang made to move towards her, but she brushed him off.

"Leave me alone, Aang. Go spend time with people you actually want to... Forget me, just like everyone always does."

It was then that Aang realised the underlying issue: she was terrified of being left behind. Now that he thought about it, it made perfect sense. Toph had always strived to become the best earthbender, be the leader in her field. He remembered how jealous she got when he had bent metal for the first time, before smiling and congratulating him. But, the behaviour wasn't limited to her bending. Even when they were travelling, she would always be one of the first awake, as if she were scared she would be left behind. She rarely let all members of the group out of her sight, always hanging around at least one other person. And wherever they traveled, she always made sure to do something that the townspeople would remember her by, even if they didn't discover it until months later. A shudder knocked him from his epiphany, and he looked over to where Toph had been to find she had jumped off the building. Running to the edge of the roof, he saw her just outside the entrance to the restaurant. Frowning slightly, Aang jumped off the roof and landed in front if his old friend.

"Don't walk away from this! You have a problem, tell me! Don't run away, earthbender.''

"Maybe that's what I do now. Maybe I run away! What do you know about me, Aang? It's been two years. You don't know me anymore. You know, I kept expecting, kept hoping you to visit. 'We haven't seen Toph in a while, do you think her parents have her trapped again?'. You were in Chin Village, a half day flight from Gaoling. You could have come and seen me!"

"Don't you dare turn this on me, Toph. I know Sokka and Suki invited you to their wedding. I know they did. You could have come, you could have seen us, but no, you couldn't face him being happy, happy with someone who wasn't you."

Toph raised her arms, and suddenly the ground under her feet rose by several inches, bringing her up to his height. She moved her head forward until she was face to face with him, eyes wet with some emotion. Rage? Frustration? Wait... Was she... Crying? Taking several breaths, the girl stopped shaking.

"Shut up, Aang. You don't know what you're talking about. Don't question my motives, you don't even know me anymore," she tried keeping her voice under control; succeeding, it was now a cold fury, burning, cutting through Aang.

"Well, why didn't you come and see us then? Why didn't you leave your parents if you were unhappy?"

"Because I couldn't!" Toph abandoned all attempts to keep her voice under control, yelling at him as though they weren't surrounded by dozens of people wanting to enter the restaurant. "I'm not angry at my parents, I love them. I couldn't leave."

"You couldn't leave your parents, who trapped you for _twelve years_, to visit your friends. Your friends who you're angry with for not visiting you?!"

Toph raised her hands, clenching them. The ground beneath Aang suddenly dropped away, and he fell into a small hole. Before he could climb out, she knelt on the ground and brought her closed fists to rest next to her chest, closing up the hole and encasing him in the rough earth. She could feel him struggling, attempting to bend himself out, but she just tightened her grip. The earth obeyed her; he had no hope of getting himself out.

Standing up straight again, she glared at him.  
"Don't ever - ever - question me, Aang. Not until you know what you're talking about."  
Swiftly turning from him, she began to walk away when suddenly she faltered, looking towards the door of the restaurant.

"What are you doing, Toph? Release him, now!" A new voice entered the fray, and Toph took a step back as Katara ran to stand next to Aang's head. Toph gaped at her in surprise. She opened her mouth to answer, when the whispering began.

"Who is that girl?"  
"How dare she attack the avatar?"  
"Look, she's blind. That must be why he didn't fight back."  
"I thought his original teacher was blind?"  
"No, his first teacher was a boy - he wouldn't have a blind girl teach him.  
"Oh, he's so considerate! What an ungrateful wretch."

Toph couldn't take it any more. Releasing Aang from the ground, she didn't even bother trying to hide the pain and humiliation on her face as she turned from the scene and ran. She didn't know why she didn't face them; she was an earthbender, she didn't run! All she knew was that she wasn't wanted, by Aang, by her friends, by anyone. For the second time that night, she let the tears fall freely, making her way back to the one place she knew she was accepted.

* * *

_And so it begins... Mmm, this is far better than any wartime fear. I could get used to a feast like this..._

* * *

It was the same feeling as all those years ago; he had yelled at her for losing Appa, but he had only just met her - he had no idea who she was. He still didn't know. He wanted to follow her, explain himself, but really there was no reason, no excuse he could give which would be good enough. He was wrong, and he knew it.

"Maybe we should just go to the tea shop," Katara suggested gently. Aang looked at her, and then to the shocked faces of his friends, standing in the doorway. Numbly, he nodded his head.

"You guys heard all that?"  
It was Zuko who spoke up this time.  
"Not here. Tell us when we get back." He nodded meaningfully at the crowd that had been attracted. Aang looked around before taking Katara's hand, leading her away. He knew the rest of the group would follow.

The walk home was tense, to say the least. Sokka and Suki had no idea what was happening, and Mai wasn't confidant enough about her knowledge of either Toph or Aang to have an opinion. Only Zuko and Katara were talking, small murmurs which failed to reach the ears of the others. Aang had relinquished Katara's hand as soon as they were clear of the crowd, and was walking ahead, trying to clear his mind. Arriving at The Jasmine Dragon, he walked through to the kitchen, motioning for his friends to seat themselves at a table. Finding the green pear tea, he decided against using his bending to prepare it. It always made it taste funny. Sitting on the floor, eyes closed as the water boiled, he heard a small voice in the next room.

"They don't understand... I thought Aang would, at least... I missed them, they won't even listen to me. They forgot me, and moved on."

Aang opened his eyes and lurched forward. Toph must have had her feet off the ground - she didn't know he was listening. Aang wondered who she was taking to, who she would tell her secrets to.

"Have you told them of what has happened to you? Why you were unable to visit them? I noticed at Aang looking at the scar..." Iroh's voice wafted through the door. Aang immediately perked up.

"She would talk to Iroh, but not me? And why wouldn't she tell me if something happened, I'm her best friend!" He heard a snort as he amended his last thought. "Was her best friend..."

"I'm sure you saw wrong. He didn't say anything about it to me... Hah, as if he would." The was a moment of silence before she continued.

"You know what the people in town said? They didn't recognise me... They just thought I was a blind nobody, attacking the saviour of the world. I felt them get out of the way for _Lady_ Katara, but to them, I was just a poor little girl who hated the Avatar..."

"You attacked Aang?" Iroh gently prompted her.  
"He upset me... I don't hate him or anything. It's just... It's just that Aang was my first friend, and even when I joined the group, he was still my only friend for a while. The rest didn't accept me. They thought I was a stuck up, lazy kid. He never thought so... I don't hate him. I hate myself... I should have visited him, I hold have made more than an effort. And then we had that stupid fight over nothing..." A small sniffle made its way to the young airbenders ears. He realised that he shouldn't be listening, it was wrong. What if he was caught? He made to stand up, when Toph's next words froze him in the spot.

"Sometimes... Sometimes I think that if I _had_ died..." She took a breath. "If I didn't make it, no one would care... And sometimes I think that... Maybe it would be good, to get away from it all..."

Aang couldn't even gasp. "She... She thought we didn't care? She might have-" he refused to think of the rest of the sentence. He couldn't understand how his friend, his teacher, his mentor, his rock, could have changed so much. Sinking back down into the floor, he felt cold, empty. He just wanted to give her a hug and tell her she wasn't worthless. He could hear Iroh begin to reply.

"Toph, you should never think that. You were lucky to survive, the spirits wanted it."

"The spirits wanted me dead in the first place." Toph interrupted him angrily, no trace of the tremor which had plagued her voice from the beginning of the conversation.

"That cannot be true. There are more-" he began to reply before being interrupted by a loud shout.

"Aang! How's the tea coming?" Katara's voice interrupted his eavesdropping, splitting through the air.  
''No, no, no no no no!'' Aang looked at the door leading to the employees lounge to find Toph standing there, a look of shock and hurt burning in her eyes, still wet from crying.

* * *

Sitting in a tree branch, in a place that both does and doesn't exist, a Spirit licked her lips.

There's just nothing quite like this taste, the taste of loneliness and fear and hatred - and she was still hungry.

* * *

**A/N: I really, truly believe that that is what Toph is most terrified of. I mean, she did spend the first 12 years of her life completely alone. I don't think her parents spent too much time with her. So, wherever she went, she made sure to create a reputation for herself, be it as the Blind Bandit, or the Runaway, or just plain ol' Toph. She doesn't want to be forgotten.**

**I know that actual actions of the characters seem OOC, but rest assured, their behaviour will be explained in upcoming chapters. **

**I wanna thank the awesome author Minnichi for allowing me to name drop her OC, Yuhan Tsen, and a-dot-fictional-dot-love for beta reading this until her eyeballs dropped out :)**


	2. Flakes

The Spirit was sitting on the same tree, watching, following, influencing.

_Time to add a little more terror into the mix, she thought to herself. Enough to infect Her... Hah, this will be fun... When it sinks in..._

* * *

Iroh was reading the letters. Not all of them, it would take hours to completely go through their correspondence. No, he was going through his favourite letters. He knew this would happen, he knew she would put on a front. He was quite unprepared for the Avatar's reaction, though.

_She has changed so much... Is he really going to brush that aside?_

Finding the scroll he was looking for, he opened it gently, reading the raised dots with his fingers.

_Thank you for helping me with this, Iroh. Now I can actually write what I want instead of dictating it to a maid. I have no idea how much she changes it. I could say I've become a vegetarian, and have a mutant child who can bend wood, and she might change it to 'I've become healthier, and there is a new addition to the family who is "unique"'. Truth be told, it's a little strange, and I've burnt my fingers a few times on the wax, but hey, it's so worth it. Thanks for talking. I sent a message to Yu Dao for Aang, the mayor should pass it onto him within a week. I made sure to include a chart so he could read it. I didn't really want a maid to write one, Dad still is a little uppity whenever I mention the Avatar. Seems to think he was a bad example. Pfft, Aang couldn't convince a badgermole to burrow. I was thinking of going up there to visit, but Dad convinced me to stay. I'll see them in a few weeks anyway. Either he's worried, or he doesn't want me to leave. Probably both. You know what the weird thing is though? I don't really mind. I could slip out if I wanted to, but I don't really. It's only a few weeks until I turn 13 anyway, might as well stay for the party!_

Smiling, Iroh returned the scroll to its place on his desk, his hand brushing up against another. He generally refrained from reading that particular one, but perhaps it would give him an idea of how to help. He couldn't stand seeing his young friend in the condition she was in, trying so hard when she shouldn't have to.

_Iroh? Have you ever done anything stupid? I don't mean forget a Pai Sho tile, or burn the tea, I mean something really, really bad... I did it to my best friend, too. I don't know if I'll ever talk to Aang again, he was so mad. I know Katara is going to be upset with me, and she's probably already told Sokka and Suki. I'm not going to their wedding now. It wouldn't feel right. I feel like I've betrayed them. I mean, how can something so stupid become something so... so bad? I just wanted him to see that there's more to the world than Air Temples and new cities. I've been around to the towns near here, and they're in terrible shape! He shouldn't be focussing so much on the past or the future - people need him in the present... He said something he shouldn't, he brought up Sokka. I know it's in the past, I know he isn't in my future, he has his own. What gives him the right to say stuff like that, though? I- I was angry, okay? I know I said stuff about Katara and Zuko I shouldn't have... That was it. He- he told me to not contact him again... I did, of course, just to say sorry, but I never got a reply. Hawky would come back empty-handed. I don't want to lose him as a friend, but I think it's too late now..._

Heart heavy, he returned the letter to its place, jumping slightly when he heard someone enter the tea shop. Moving into the lounge area, he saw his young friend curled up on the couch, crying pitifully.

"Toph? Whatever is the matter? I thought you were having a lovely dinner with your friends?"

She turned to him, hair a mess, her face red and bloated.

"Not my friends, and no dinner. Could I just have some tea?" She could barely keep the tremor from her voice. Iroh looked at her sadly, wanting to ask what had happened. He refrained, though, knowing that she would tell him when she had time to process it. Making the strong, soothing passionflower tea, he made his way back to the earthbender, noting with a small smile that she was no longer crying, although the wrong thing said could push her over the edge again.

"I know I didn't have the chance to tell you earlier, but I am glad you decided to come, Toph, and I know your friends are glad you came," he told her, handing her the sweet tea. He noted, somewhat disappointedly, the look of derision that crossed her face.

"Sure. They miss me. That's why they're so keen on sucking each other's face's and talking about how great everyone else is for 'continuing the good work' after the war," she told him, not even trying to keep the tone of contempt and anger from her voice. Iroh was surprised, to say the least. He had never heard Toph speak so callously about her friends.

"Perhaps you should begin by telling me what happened?" he suggested to her gently, watching her take a small sip of the anti-anxiety tea. At once, the look of anger was wiped from her face, to be replaced by an expression that could only be described as wistful sadness.

"They don't understand... I thought Aang would, at least... I missed them, they won't even listen to me. They forgot me, and moved on."

Iroh looked at her, nodding his head. He knew how much she suffered after the war, being left at her parent's home. Luckily for her, after training the Avatar, her parents accepted who she really was. She had told him though, that it was only because of Aang that the change had happened. She was glad though, that they did choose to try to get to know her. There were compromises on both sides. Curious, the old tea maker asked the most logical question.

"Have you told them of what has happened to you? Why you were unable to visit them? I noticed Aang looking at the scar..." Iroh looked meaningfully at the lighter piece of flesh on her still bared midriff.

"I'm sure you saw wrong. He didn't say anything about it to me... Hah, as if he would." She stopped, and Iroh waited patiently for her to continue. There was another issue she wasn't telling him.

"You know what the people in town said? They didn't recognise me... They just thought I was a blind nobody, attacking the saviour of the world. I felt them get out of the way for _Lady_ Katara, but to them, I was just a poor little girl who hated the Avatar..."

Iroh couldn't believe she had fought with the Avatar. "You attacked Aang?"

"He upset me... I don't hate him or anything. It's just... It's just that Aang was my first friend, and even when I joined the group, he was still my only friend for a while. The rest didn't accept me. They thought I was a stuck up, lazy kid. He never thought so... I don't hate him. I hate myself... I should have visited him, I hold have made more of an effort. And then we had that stupid fight over nothing..." Her eyes had begun to water again, and Iroh refilled her tea cup. He opened his mouth to say something, but she began speaking before he could.

"Sometimes... Sometimes I think that if I _had_ died..." She took an audible breath, shaking slightly. "If I died, no one would care... And sometimes I think that... Maybe it would be good, to get away from it all..."

Iroh's mouth was left hanging open. Toph had admitted to being terrified. She had admitted to the possibility of her not surviving, but never had she told him that she accepted dying - wanted to not survive. At once, he could feel nothing but sympathy and empathy for the lost little girl.

"Toph, you should never think that. You were lucky to survive, the spirits wanted it."

"The spirits wanted me dead in the first place."

"That cannot be true. There are more-" he began to reply before being interrupted by a loud shout.

"Aang! How's the tea coming?"

Iroh saw the look of angry shock on her face, and before he could take her hand, Toph was up and in the doorway to the kitchen, standing stock still. She was looking into the kitchen; he couldn't see her face, but he knew what it would look like. Standing up, he walked over to the doorway and placed a hand gently on Toph's shoulder. He could see Aang sitting on the floor, looking guiltier and guiltier by the second. Katara was standing in the other doorway, a confused expression on her face.

Iroh gently took her hand and lead Toph away. "Are you going to tell them?"

"I can't- I can't do this... I don't care, I don't want them to know!" She turned abruptly and half walked-half ran out of the room, trying desperately to stop the onslaught of tears. Iroh shook his head sadly, and turned around to find Aang standing in the recently vacated doorway.

"Iroh...? What's happening to her?"

"It isn't my story to tell. Ask her, I'm sure she would like to talk to you all. Although, one at a time. Do not crowd the poor girl, she has been through more than you know."

Katara had joined her boyfriend in the doorway, hands on his shoulders, and shot Iroh a questioning glance.

"Uh... Katara? I'm uh, I'm going to go ask Toph if she wants some tea..." Aang knew very well that Katara hadn't heard much, and what she would do if she knew what had transpired, both outside the restaurant and what Aang had heard. She reluctantly let go of his shoulders, and watched him trudge outside towards Iroh's house.

* * *

Aang really didn't want to be alone with her. He didn't want her to be angry with him, he didn't want her to ignore him, but on the flipside he felt as though he deserved to be ignored, and he knew that Toph knew - she wasn't afraid of ignoring him, especially when he deserved it. But, it was her fault too; so why did he feel this way?

_It's because she needed you, and you weren't there_  
How was I supposed to know she needed me?  
_By not ignoring her, not letting your pride get in the way_  
She could have apologised  
_She may have, you just threw away all the letters_  
... Shut up. I'm trying now, aren't I?  
_Well, make sure you don't screw up again_

Aang shook his head, stepping under the eaves of the tea maker's modest but cozy home.

"Toph? Where are you?"

"Go away." Aang heard her voice coming from behind one of the doors of one of the numerous rooms. He approached it, but she yelled out to him again, and he only narrowly managed to avoid the spikes of earth that she sent his way.

"Fine, I'll be in the tea shop if you want anything!" He stormed out, fuming. Didn't she understand that he was trying to make amends? He wanted to help her, wanted to be there to make up for the time that he hadn't been. Why was she making this so difficult?

Storming back into the tea shop, he was met with several shocked and surprised faces.

"She uh, she didn't want any tea..." he mumbled to the floor, not wanting to meet anyone's gaze. Iroh walked up to him slowly and pulled him to the side.

"Perhaps, Avatar, you can have a nice chat with her? It has been a long time."

Aang looked at the old man. For some reason, he felt as though it wasn't a suggestion.

"She doesn't want to talk to me, though..."

"Yes, she does. She is going through a difficult time, and she needs her friends. Be a friend to her. The past doesn't matter, what matters is the present, and how it affects the future. Do not let this experience destroy whatever future you have with her."

Aang nodded numbly, ignoring the confused expressions of his friends before turning around and walking back out. Iroh turned to the remaining teenagers.

"Do not worry, little ones. I'll make some tea."

"Actually, I'm feeling a little tired, I'm going to go to bed," Suki spoke to Iroh, but she looked pointedly at Zuko and Mai.

"Oh, uh, yes! Tired- tired! We'll uh, be in bed too." Zuko took Mai's hand and led her from the room, followed closely behind by Suki, who gave Sokka a small encouraging smile.

"Tea for three, then."

* * *

This time, there was no internal debate, no arguing with himself. Aang was sure of what he had to do; he just hoped he could without getting hurt. Using his air bending, he softened his footfalls so as not to alert Toph of his approach. He needn't have bothered. As soon as he stepped into the house he could hear her heartbreaking sobs. He could feel his own tears forming and as he gently pushed open her door he felt his own heart breaking. Toph was sitting on Iroh's spacious bed, knees under her chin, curled up into herself shaking and sobbing inconsolably. Aang opened his mouth to speak, but she beat him to it.

"Come to laugh at the poor blind girl, Aang?" She managed to ask between sobs.

"Toph..."

"Just leave me alone!" She flung her hands out as though trying to strike him, before curling up again tighter than before.

Aang fidgeted slightly. He wanted to help her, wanted to comfort her, but he had no idea how. She was different than Katara - but she was still a girl. Walking slowly up to the bed, he sat down, and gently wrapped his arms around her shoulders. She was a girl, a lost little girl who had been forgotten by the one person who she thought would always be there for her.

She fought against him momentarily, but he refused to relinquish his grip. He held her against his chest, arms surrounding her in a tight hug as she began to sob harder onto his tunic.

He shushed her, gently whispering as he kissed her temple and rocked her soothingly against his body.

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry Toph. I didn't know. I should have been here, it's my fault."

It didn't matter that he didn't know what was wrong, it didn't matter that they had fought, it didn't matter that she would probably beat the living day lights out of him later. The only thing that mattered was that here and now, she needed him.

Hours later, it seemed, although really it could have been only five minutes, Toph's sobs subsided, although he could still see the occasional tear work its way down her face as she continued to shake slightly. Eventually, even those small shakes stopped, and Aang could hear and feel her breathing deeply. Adjusting his position, he found that she had fallen asleep. Gently, so as not to wake her, he lifted her from on top of him and lay her on the bed, tiptoeing out of the room. Closing the door behind him, he slid down to the floor, head in his hands. He didn't know how long he sat there, but he knew he had to move eventually. Standing up slowly, he made his way over to the tea shop, looking up as he moved into the living room. He noticed that Mai and Zuko had both left, and Suki was nowhere to be seen. Shrugging it off, he turned to Iroh.

"She's asleep now," he told Iroh, who nodded appreciatively. Sitting down on one of the lounges, Aang avoided his Water Tribe friends' gazes, not really sure of what happened and unwilling to talk about it. Sokka unfortunately had other plans.

"Okay, what the Spirit World was that?" His voice was loud but controlled as he turned to Aang, demanding an answer.

"You know what happened, don't you?" Aang ignored Sokka, instead speaking to Iroh who nodded again.

"Yes, I do," he replied simply. He held up a hand when he noticed Aang about to ask another question.

"I am sorry, Aang, but I cannot tell you. This is her story, and when she wants you to know, she will tell you."

"I don't understand... I didn't think a fight would make her so... so devastated..."

"I'm sorry, Aang... Did she never try to contact you? Try and explain her actions?" The way Iroh asked made Aang think he knew; knew of the events that had transpired a little over two years ago. Hanging his head, he avoided Sokka's piercing gaze, and Katara's angry one. She didn't even know.

"She did... I- I ignored it," Aang muttered quietly, shame creeping up his neck to colour his face red.

"What? Aang, what did you do to her?!" Katara had joined in the conversation, worry and anger in her voice. She had moved to hug her boyfriend, but stopped at his ashamed admission.

"Sh, keep it down!" he replied in a subdued whisper, gesturing with his hands.

"Perhaps we should move to the living room to discuss this?" Iroh suggested gently before moving into the room himself carrying a tray of tea. Katara and Sokka both shot Aang a look that said 'you're not getting out of this', before following Iroh into the comfortable den. He hesitated only the briefest of moments before moving behind them. Who knew, perhaps this would be the perfect time to get everything out in the open? Hei Bai knows he had held it in long enough. Honestly, he couldn't even remember why.

"So, Aang, what happened?" Straight and to the point. That was just like Sokka, no skirting around the issue. He wanted answers, and he was going to get them.

"Well, we uh, fought..." Aang was reluctant to go into any details. He had kept the reasons for severing communication with Toph a secret. For all Katara and Sokka knew, she had simply stopped writing.

"When?" Katara's voice invaded his thoughts, and he knew he couldn't keep it to himself anymore. This was more than just pride and dignity (which he had none of at that moment). Toph was hurting, and it was his fault - he couldn't get that thought out of his head. Whatever had happened tonight had been the effect of something he had done, he didn't know when, and it may have been indirectly, but it was still his fault.

"... Over two years ago... A few months before she turned fourteen. That's why we didn't go to her party..."

"What party? She cancelled it; we didn't see her at our wedding either, and that was only a few weeks before her birthday..." Sokka interrupted him, his voice a mixture of confusion and anger.

"I thought that- she couldn't wait to see everyone!" Aang didn't realise she had cancelled her party. He had come up with an excuse not to go, and convinced Katara to stay with him - really, he tried to ignore her for as long as possible.

"Well, she didn't show up to my wedding, and as we were about to leave for Gaoling, we got a letter from her parents saying that she had falle ill and that the party was off. We didn't hear from her after that. I mean, we tried! But we never got a response back..." Sokka was slumped tiredly in his chair, looking between Katara and Iroh who were sharing a lounge, and Aang who was standing awkwardly in the doorway.

"Oh, by Koh's Stolen Faces, that's what this is about? Why didn't you tell us, Aang!" Katara cried out. "What could she say that was so terrible you had to ignore her! You're supposed to be about peace and unity!"

"I don- I didn't- she started it!" He tried defending himself, but that seemed to make his friends angrier. Only Iroh was sitting calmly. Oh yeah, the old man knew, she had told him.

"You had to have done something to make her this way. She wouldn't change like this just for the fun of it! You saw how broken she was!" Every accusation plunged the guilt deeper into his stomach - he had to make them understand that it wasn't just his fault. That wasn't really fair; the argument had been the result of both their actions, but it was his fault that she was so- so shattered. So heart-wrenchingly broken.

"She wrote to me... She wanted me- us, you and me, Katara - she wanted us to visit her before the party. I said- I said no, because we were still working on rebuilding the Air Temples and we were needed to start the foundations of Republic City... I told her we would see her soon, but she didn't really listen... She got really angry and upset... She uh, she accused me of living in the past, trying to repair my home, and that I was too focused on the future with the new city..." He gulped, not willing to go on, but knowing he had to.

"What happened next?" Sokka asked, sounding resigned and upset, as though he didn't really want to know the rest but had to in order to make sense of the chaos around him.

"I brought up... I brought up you, Sokka," he answered, his face pained but mercifully free of tears. He had started the story. And now he couldn't stop.

"I said that she was still living in the past... Hung up about you... That she wasn't focusing on the present; she was still hoping she had a future with you..." He saw their faces and cried out before Katara had a chance to yell at him.

"I was going to apologise! I had a letter already written, but then she sent me another one... She said that I shouldn't have mentioned Sokka... I shouldn't be worrying about her love life, I should worry about my own. She said- she said that I should be scared of Katara leaving me for Zuko, because he was more worthy than me... I lost it. I ripped up the letter I had prepared and I sent another one telling her not to contact me. She didn't listen, she kept sending me apologies. I didn't read them, any of them; I threw them over the side of Appa when I was travelling from the Air Temple. I didn't actually think she would turn up here, not after she ignored your wedding."

"She didn't completely ignore it... I mean, I got a letter from her about a month afterwards saying congratulations... But the she didn't send me another one... I kinda got distracted with moving the Warriors, so I didn't really find the time to send her one..."

Katara looked between the two boys and Iroh, who was gently blowing on his tea.

"You idiot, Aang!" He boyfriend shrunk under her withering gaze. "You hurt your friend and you lied to me. Do you really think I would leave you for Zuko?!" She glared at him again for emphasis.

"I didn't know it would get like this! I mean, I kept wanting to contact her, but I ran out of time! Do you know how long it takes me to write a letter to her? All the wax and stuff... Anyway, she didn't want anything to do with anyone else! She didn't even go to Sokka's wedding."

"Ah, but you are assuming the reason, Aang," Iroh said quietly, gently blowing on his tea. "Perhaps you should speak with her before you judge her?"

"Why can't you just tell us? At least then we might understand! Toph isn't one to talk bout her feelings..."

"She is hurt. She doesn't trust anyone anymore - especially after she put her faith in someone, and he betrayed her." He looked pointedly at Aang as he said this. "It will take her a while to open up again. You mustn't force her, however. She has been hurt more than you know, Aang. Now, it is getting late. If you wish, you may stay here tonight; although, perhaps it would be best if you give her some time to herself. She isn't used to this anymore." Iroh stood up and took the tray of tea back into the kitchen.

"This?" Aang couldn't stop the question tumbling from his lips. Iroh stopped and turned, giving the saddest smile Aang had ever seen.

"Friends," the old man answered before shuffling out. Aang felt tears prickling at his eyes, and desperately wished them away.

"Aang, I'm going back to the hotel," Katara began. "You, on the other hand are going to stay here and then take Toph out tomorrow. I don't care how this started, I care about how it's going to end. Me and Sokka," she indicated to her brother as she said this. "We're gonna tell everyone that it was sorted out, while you treat her, okay? Take her to the zoo or something. Let her know that you want to be friends. Make sure she needs to forgive you, not the other way around."

"Why me?" Aang asked, almost whined to his girlfriend.

"Because you hurt her more than she hurt you..."

* * *

Toph slept all through the night - a feat she hadn't accomplished for years. She would have preferred to wake up though, if only to cut the nightmares short. Terrible visions of loneliness and solitude that she hadn't had since before her earthbending days. Waking up in the morning after a less-than-restful night's sleep, it took a while for her to realise why she couldn't see, why her face felt slightly sticky. Remembering that she was on Iroh's bed, she groped her way across the feathered mattress until she found the edge. She could remember what happened last night, her own abhorrent display of weakness. Hand to her head, she slipped off the downy quilt and landed roughly on the floor, suddenly able to see everything - including the tall monk curled on the floor in front of the door.

Suddenly, she was overcome with a sense of fear and dread she had only felt once before. Four years ago, she would have kicked him awake, laughing at the unusual position she had found him in. But that was a long time ago. Toph didn't know how to act around them anymore. She didn't want to either, because that would involve getting to know them again. Opening herself up to learn a little of the people who had hurt her so much didn't really appeal to her. Stepping away from the sleeping airbender, she could feel that they were the only ones on the house. She could sense Iroh in the tea shop, lying on one of the stone benches. The heartbeats were fuzzy - he must have laid down a few blankets to soften the hard surface. She couldn't feel anyone else - they must all have returned to their inns and hotels. Quickly making her way through the expansive window, she snuck into the Jasmine Dragon. Walking past the sleeping Iroh, she made her way into the kitchen, using her superior sense of smell to locate the jasmine tea. Preparing a pot (and burning her hands a little on the hot water), she slowly walked over to Iroh and shook him awake.

"I made you some tea... I hope it tastes better than Zuko's." She offered him a wan smile that only accentuated the bags under her eyes and how pale her skin was.

"I'm sure it will be delicious, thank you, Toph," he told her gently as he sat up. She moved to sit next to him, this time making sure to keep her feet on the ground. Iroh watched her with curiosity.

"Anything the matter, Toph?"

"No! Nothing's wrong..."

"Ah," he smiled slightly. "I did not ask if anything was wrong, I asked if anything was the matter. There is a distinct difference, I believe..." He watched as a small smile graced her face at his word play.

"Just... I don't want them to think any less of me... I behaved terribly last night... God, I even needed Aang to comfort me! Ugh... What was he doing in front of my door?"

"Katara kicked him out of their hotel room, and he had nowhere else to go. I'm surprised he didn't collapse on the bed with you, Toph."

Toph glared at the old man, knowing full well that she wouldn't stand for Aang being in the same bed as her.

"You could have woken me up. I would have slept here on the floor. It's more comfortable for me than it is for you."

Iroh smiled at her before taking a sip of the tea. It was definitely better than Zuko's. Smacking his lips appreciatively, he turned back to the earthbender.

"What are your plans for today, Toph?" he asked.

"I don't know. Earthbend, avoid everyone, go shopping. Maybe go and visit the zoo? Oh, and I'll avoid everyone." She gave a slight shrug of her shoulders, as if ignoring your friends was the most casual thing to do.

"That does not sound like an earthbender to me. It does not sound like you."

"I made an ass of myself last night. I don't want to talk to them about it," she told him bluntly.

"You do not need to talk. They will listen when you do, but they are your friends, and will not force you to say anything you don't want to. They won't make you talk about anything you don't want to. They have missed you, I know it. If you give them a chance, you will know it too."

Toph looked at the old man in surprise. He had never said anything so straightforward to her before. She didn't say anything for a moment, before shaking her head.

"No... It won't make a difference. They're going to behave weird, be on edge around me now. Maybe I should just go home, I've probably ruined this get-together for everyone."

"You can't leave!" Toph started as Aang's voice carried through the room. She had been so caught up with talking to Iroh that she hadn't noticed Aang walking into the room. He rubbed his eyes and sat down on the floor in front of Toph and Iroh. The earthbender slowly lifted her legs off the floor and tucked them under her chin protectively, a position similar to the one she had last night. Aang looked at her curiously, feeling as though he had interrupted something.

"Hey! Do you wanna go to the zoo or something today?" he asked, a smile on his face in anticipation. Toph raised her head slightly, her eyes wide and mouth in a perfect 'o'. Iroh nudged her, and she closed her mouth quickly and looked away.

"Don't you wanna go?" Aang questioned her again, peering up underneath the hair covering her eyes.

"I need to go and prepare the shop for trade today," Iroh told the Avatar and the earthbender, leaving the uncomfortable conversation behind. Aang moved from the floor to sit next to Toph, not at all surprised when she tensed next him.

"Toph, please... Let me take you out to get something to eat or... I don't know... Lets go on a flight on Appa..."

"Aang..."

"Look, Toph, I get it if you don't trust us, or want to talk to us or- just... I wanna be your friend again..." He looked at his friend plaintively, wanting her to understand how much he hated himself for how he made her feel.

"... I'm- Maybe the zoo?" she said in a small voice, a smile tugging at the corners of her mouth.

Aang let his own smile cover his face.

* * *

She was hungry. Starving. The Bei Fong girl's initial shock of surprise and fear had worn off and was replaced by anger. And now this. This was the last straw. The trust the girl once held for the Avatar was coming back in, its small but strong tendrils and threatening the existence of the fear the Spirit had taken so much care in installing in her heart. The Spirit needed to blind her, literally. It had taken two years, but now it was time for the torture to begin.

_All this waiting and work had better be worth it_, she thought sourly.

* * *

**A/N: Hey! I just wanna say thank you to everyone who has reviewed, followed or favourited this story. You are all beautiful people that made me spontaneously laugh in Legal Studies.**

**Did you get the references? One was obviously braille (well, I hope it was obvious...), and the other was for a fanfic called The Sole Woodbender. Title explains it all. Anyway, it can be found on the Avatar Wiki site.**

**Thank you, beta (aka a-dot-fictional-dot-love), for reading this chapter a few times. The bad news for you readers is I've only got a little of the next chapter written. But, it features a fight, a sword, a memory and a little Taang fluff. Well, it does at the moment. That might change. Anyway, point is don't expect the next chapter for a while, I'm pretty swamped. Curse you, reality!**


	3. Fragments

**Disclaimer: Everything is owned by Joss Whedon**

* * *

As it turned out, the zoo was closed for a festival being held in the Lower Ring. Turning away from the Agrarian Zone, Aang allowed Toph to slowly lead him back through the rings to the Jasmine Dragon. He was reluctant to return so soon - Katara would be furious if he returned without having made any progress with patching up his friendship. Becoming more desperate the closer they came to the Upper Ring, he began slowing down. Using his usual goofy need and excitability as an excuse (and the fact that he hadn't seen Toph in anything aside from her long pants and virtually non-existent top), he dragged her to different shops and began looking around at the various trinkets and object. At first she was happy to go along with his seemingly joyful scavenging for cheap deals, but it quickly turned to confusion when she caught on to his methods and the purpose behind them.

"Look, Aang," she managed to blurt out between one of his many bargain hunts. "Stop."

It was the tone she used more than the words themselves that made Aang pause and look back at her at her, fear present in his eyes but not his face.

"Y-yeah, Toph?"

She walked closer to him until they were barely a foot apart. "I don't know what you're doing, or why. Well, I think you don't want to go to the Jasmine Dragon yet, but I'm not sure of the reason..."

"I just wanna spend time with you!" Aang replied quickly, knowing Toph sensed the half-truth as soon as he said it. Her passive expression shifted into a sneer and she turned away from him abruptly.

"You really have the audacity to lie to me _now_, Aang? Well, fine." Toph began to walk away when she felt Aang's hand on her shoulder.

"Toph, wait..." he said, removing his hand almost as soon as he touched her, sighing relievedly as she stopped mid-step and turned her head slightly

"I do wanna spend time with you... I'm just not sure how to act around you anymore... We both changed and I don-" he was cut off as the earthbender placed a clumsy hand over his mouth, missing slightly.

"Well... we could always have a spar?"

Aang looked at her incredulously, before a small smile broke out on his face through her hand.

"We need to go back to the Jasmine Dragon for that, though... People here will stare, and there's something I need from my room..." she added when Aang didn't immediately answer her after she removed her hand.

"Sure, Toph!" he told her, finally finding his voice. Grabbing her hand, he ran from the shop, the young girl trailing haphazardly behind.

The trek which should have taken them almost sixty minutes was achieved in twenty as the two teenagers ran through the three rings of Ba Sing Se and arrived at the tea shop. Walking calmly through the threshold, Aang only noticed he was still holding her hand when it twitched in his, causing him to drop it immediately. He didn't want Katara or Iroh to catch them or get the wrong idea - although neither seemed to be at the tea shop at that moment. It was still fairly early; Iroh didn't generally open for trade until midday at least. If she felt offended at the act, Toph didn't show it as she walked into the kitchen for a glass of water.

"Earthbending only?" Aang asked innocently, already knowing the answer.  
Toph poked her head around the side of the door, and offered him a genuine smile - one he hadn't seen in over two years. Sure it was small, and somewhat reluctant, but it was still there.

"...Nah. Come at me with everything you've got, see if the almighty Avatar can actually defeat me. Ready?" She smiled confidently and drank the rest of her water.

He nodded, surprised, and walked through the back door into the courtyard knowing that Toph would be following close behind.

Aang was slightly worried - he hadn't really kept up with his earthbending, not since the fight at least. He was still capable - far better than a regular bender, But that was just it; Toph was as far from a regular bender as you could get. The fact that she was confident enough to let him use the other elements was a testament to how much she knew she had grown; while Aang hadn't seen her earthbend how she used to yet, the move she pulled on him the previous night was enough to convince him that she had matured in more than looks and attitude. It seemed as though her style had changed, too. She was a lot more sensitive to vibrations - the episode in the restaurant was proof of that. Never once had she become overwhelmed with the number of people, to the point where she couldn't find her friends.

Looking at her now, stance readying for a fight, Aang knew that she had become more than just sensitive. Her legs were closer together and she was standing in a way that was unfamiliar to him, but it was obvious that she knew what she was doing. Looking at her closer, Aang saw that her centre of gravity was higher than that of a typical earthbender, and it affected how she was balancing.

"How about we up the odds?" she called to him, never wavering as he jumped back in surprise at being addressed.

"What kind of odds?" he asked warily.

"Well, you win, and you choose what we do next. I win, and you have to do what I say. Sound fair?" Toph's face had settled into its usual smirk, inviting Aang to argue with her. Surprisingly, he agreed to the terms immediately.

"Sure. Why not? I hope you're ready!" With that, he struck out with a wave of earthbending, still unsure of attacking her with any other element.

"Come on, Twinkletoes, that was pathetic!" she called out to him, mock disgust on her face, before she turned her attention to the earth tunnelling towards her. Manipulating the rumbling element so it travelled back towards the Avatar, she smiled; Aang mimicked her expression before striking out with his fist, sending plumes of air and dust towards her. He hoped to knock her off balance, trying to take advantage of the strange pose she held. Peering through the dust he couldn't see a trace of his earthbending teacher; she was gone.

"You know, that's the first time you called me Twinkletoes since I arrived!" he called to the empty arena. Taking a step forward, he suddenly found his leg sinking through the ground as his back leg was simultaneously lifted in the air with a pillar. This resulted in Aang being flipped, one leg buried in the ground up to his thigh, his other leg splayed out awkwardly. Suddenly, Toph appeared, shooting up from under the ground before standing above him, grinning. She earthbent him a little lower in the ground, making sure his hands were in the earth to prevent him from earthbending himself out.

"No it isn't. I said it when you first arrived. And just now, remember what I said? You were pathetic, Aang. I told you you can use the other elements, and you still couldn't beat me," she said, disappointment ringing in her tone. She moved to squat on the ground next to him, patting his head and finally smiling. "Did you really think you could beat me?"

Struggling for a moment, Aang quickly realised the futility and stopped, grunting something unintelligible.

"Sorry, what was that?" Toph smirked at him, enjoying herself way too much in the airbender's opinion.

"I said, you win," he conceded tiredly.

"That was easy," she told him, releasing him as she moved away. Aang stood up groggily, moving slowly to let the blood flow back into his recently released limbs. Shaking his legs, he called over to her retreating back warily."What did you want me to do?"

She turned and smiled, a knowing look in her eyes.

"We're gonna have another fight. Just let me go and get something..."

Watching her enter the tea shop, he couldn't help but wonder what she needed - perhaps getting a blindfold for him? Closing his eyes, he focused his bending into the specialised technique for seismic sense. He had barely used it around people, although he had a fair bit of practise while searching for hidden rooms and shortcuts in the Southern Air Temple; he had needed to in order to sift through much of the debris. It was hard to get a picture clearer than his own heartbeats, so he jumped when he heard Toph calling him from the porch.

"I'm back! Ready?" Aang opened his eyes blearily, and shut them again almost immediately. He had to be seeing things. Opening one eye carefully, he pinched himself to make sure that he wasn't dreaming.

"Toph, is that- is that Sokka's Space Sword?" he asked incredulously.

"Yep. I got it back a few weeks before I turned fourteen. Naturally I would bring it here - although I told Sokka that he couldn't have it back until the end of the week."

"Why are you holding it now?"

Toph flashed him a smile that was all teeth, sending his own on edge.

"Because I'm going to fight with it." At the last word she moved closer, within melee range.

"Don't worry, I've bent the edge so it's quite dull. The worse you'll get is a broken rib."

Aang looked warily at his younger friend. He could see now how her new stance affected her fighting - she would be quicker and lighter, but still able to earthbend effectively; that is, if she chose to. For a reason he couldn't quite place, he didn't think she would want to use her bending to defeat him; she had proven she could, and wanted to try something else. She was standing casually, the sword hanging limply in her left hand, her right on her hip. She was again unconsciously tracing the mark, her small fingers gliding subtly over the tarnished flesh. It was this casual attitude that frightened Aang the most; how she could look at him calmly with a weapon more deadly than his own bending?

_Wait... deadly? And her right hand keeps twitching towards her scar... Curious..._

"Alright, then, Toph. Same wager as before?" She nodded, the smile never leaving her face - even if it was an empty one.

Taking a step forward, Aang struck first, punching a small fireball towards Toph's left arm. It was barely bigger than a mandarin-pear, but he wasn't sure exactly how strong to make it. He hadn't fought with her in a long time, and never using any other type of bending. She moved a step to the right, not even bothering to hurry out of the way. She felt the heat on her arm - it probably singed a few hairs, but it didn't matter. She knew that the cavalier disregard for her safety would be freaking Aang out.

Moving closer, she lunged with the dull tip of the sword, before flicking her wrist around so the flat of the blade whipped into Aang's side. Or, it would have had he not jumped back in time.

"Hey, watch out!" he cried as Toph stepped closer, bringing the long sword with her.

"Fight properly!" she retorted, swinging the black metal in a tall arc, keeping her balance centred. Aang noticed during a brief respite that she did not keep her feet flat on the ground; rather, it was as though she were dancing on the tips of her toes.

Sliding his right foot along the ground, Aang managed to get the earth underneath Toph to move suddenly to the right. He was positive that she would be unable to keep her balance with such a high stance.

He wasn't counting on her being able to adjust to the movement, especially not without using earthbending.

"How did you do that?" he asked, kicking up a large boulder with his toes and sending it her way not half a second later. Spinning around the rock, Toph stopped as her left side faced Aang and brought the sword up to eye level with uncanny accuracy.

"It's a lot like dancing," was all she offered by way of explanation, mimicking his thoughts from earlier before approaching him faster then he had ever seen her move before. Using his waterbending and firebending stances, Aang had the ability to parry and counter Toph's own attacks - whether he would be able to put her on the defensive was another question entirely.

"How did you get so good?!" he cried out, striking forward with his left arm while dodging a low swing of the sword.

"Practice!" Toph laughed, finally managing to land the first blow - a slap to the side of his leg. Aang hopped on his other leg, kicking out with the one she just hit. He managed to make contact with her chest, knocking her back. The blind swordsman's feet slid across the earth, but to Aang's utter shock and confusion, she was somehow able to keep her balance.

"Was this just something else you felt you needed to master?" he asked her, kicking forward again. This time, he sent a burst of air at her, but she managed to dodge it, twirling around with the sword trailing behind her.

"Of course! I need to be the best. I need to be _my_ best..." she trailed off, her plastic smile finally dropping, giving way to the emotion she had tried to hide.

"What, and you think you aren't?" Aang teased, oblivious to her state. He dragged some water from the air and formed makeshift knives. His voice was light, but the question was serious.

_What happened to make you think you aren't the best?_

Throwing two of the knives, he managed to graze Toph lightly on her upper arm as she spun out of the way. Instead of a groan of pain, she smiled again. Aang wasn't sure whether this time, it was real or not.

"That's it, Twinkletoes. More ferocious!" she cried out, ignoring the questions both spoken and unspoken.

_Please don't make me talk about it..._

She gave a hollow laugh before advancing forward once again. Striking out using his waterbending stances, Aang was again surprised at the speed and accuracy with which she managed to block him. It was as though she knew what moves he would make, which in and of itself wasn't surprising; the unexpected part was that she knew how to dodge and counter each move.

Twisting abruptly, she struck out with Sokka's sword, hitting Aang sharply in the ribs before she turned in the opposite direction, clobbering him in his other side with the dull weapon.

Staggering back, he coughed, the action sending pain shooting through his stomach and into his chest. Looking up at Toph, he could see she had become rigid; stiller than a statue. Her eyes wide, the Blind Bandit gave a smile, a perfect balance of glee, and something infinitely darker, before it vanished. Looking at her face, he could see a new emotion playing in her eyes, tugging at the corners of her mouth as though she was fighting herself. Not giving him the chance to study her further, she turned her face down and ran her hand along the blade of the weapon. When she pulled it back, he could see the dull edges had been sharpened.

"Let's make this more interesting, huh?"

He felt the emotion slide off his face. He knew (well, _hoped_) she didn't want to kill him, but he honestly had no idea where her change in attitude came from. It was as though she was furious at him, even though the anger was unjustified. And a surprise. Until that moment, it had been obvious - or, at least Aang had thought it were obvious - that she was having fun beating him. She didn't need to resort to such dangerous tactics.

"Toph, what are you- woah!" He had begun cautiously, but a swipe to his throat cut him off. Forming fire daggers, he could feel the flames licking the outside edge of his wrists.

"What's your problem?!" he shouted at her, demanding an explanation. She lunged forward again, a fierce grimace on her face. He managed to parry the attack with his own daggers, stepping lightly to the side.

"I don't have a problem," she told him, teeth snapping together viciously. All pretence of a friendly spar flew out the window as soon as she took the dulled edges off the sword, and Aang was determined to find out why.

"Obviously you do, or you wouldn't have cried into my shirt last night!"

He realised, almost too late, that it was probably not the wisest thing to say. Doubling her efforts, although it seemed not to be from anger at his words, Toph began to strike out seemingly at random. She flew through the air gracefully, the sword a dark blur as she waved it through the air. She was in a frenzy, attacking him with an almost desperate motive. Even the master airbender was unable to avoid some of the swings, receiving cuts and nicks on his forearms and shins.

"Why are you so desperate to hurt me?!" he cried out, forming an air scooter on which he could retreat to a safe distance. As though she knew his intentions (and he didn't know that she didn't), Toph swung the sword in a horizontal arc, catching the palm of Aang's hand with the sharpened tip. Crying out, he fell to the ground, clutching the bleeding extremity.

Standing over him, she pointed Sokka's weapon at him. The Air Nomad looked up at her, shock and horror playing on his face. Once again, she smiled the same evil grin before it slid off her face, and she collapsed on the ground, throwing the sword away sharply; it clattered noisily to the stone floor, a mere ornament once again. He could hear her panting as she became once again the lost girl he knew ten minutes ago.

"I'm sorry... I'm sorry... pl- please don't be mad..." She was pleading, muttering under her breath; there was a slight tremor in her voice, her eyes blinking rapidly through the thick hair. Grabbing the hem of her long pants, she ripped a piece off and began wrapping his hand. It would need to be cleaned and healed properly by Katara when she arrived, but for the time being it was serving its purpose of stopping the bleeding.

"Wh- ...Toph?" he asked again, ignoring the congealing blood. "What was that?! Did you just fight me so you could hurt me?!"

"N-no... I don- You b- broke your promise... t- to me..." The tears had leaked over her face, marking clear trails through the grime on her cheeks. "I n- needed you..."

_Promise? What promise? _He wasn't sure what she was talking about, but knew better than to ask. He had the memory, he just couldn't see it. Perhaps if he...

Looking through her dark hair, Aang found Toph's wet eyes searching, imploring that he understand and remember. She had quickly realised he had forgotten, and was giving him the chance to redeem himself. He had to remember, he had... Oh... Within the light green orbs he could see the truth, what he had promised and failed to do...

* * *

_The sun had risen over the small town of Gaoling, only to realise it had been beaten by a chirpy Air Nomad and a loud-mouthed earthbender. The two had but a few scant hours in which to relish each others company before said Nomad had to leave, returning once again to help the world after a short week of ignoring all but the small girl he had tasked himself with returning home. A small girl who then blackmailed him into staying to help deal with 'the demon gatekeepers of this hellish prison'. Surprisingly, she didn't seem to want to leave again, declining his invitation to travel again._

_"I've trained the Avatar. I've helped him overthrow a vicious dictator and saved my country. Now my hardest challenge - facing my parents. It'll be fun, and if not, I can always run away again."_

_Aang smiled at that, before telling her of his facial expression - a strange habit the two had picked up in the closing moments of the War. She punched him lightly on the arm as they approached Appa, her own way of saying goodbye. Aang pulled her into a tight hug; his own farewell._

_"Keep in touch, okay? I'll find a way to write to you, just make sure you respond, alright Twinkletoes?"_

_"I promise, as the Avatar, that I wi-"_

_"No." Toph put her hand over Aang's mouth, looking blindly over his right shoulder. "I don't want an Avatar promise. I want an Aang promise."_

_Aang smiled again, knowing that she could feel it, before nodding. Toph removed her hand, giving him room to speak._

_"I give you an Aang promise that I won't forget to write. We'll see each other soon anyway." He shrugged, but he knew that the simple promise meant more to Toph than she would say - his suspicions were confirmed when she stepped up close to him and threw her arms around him of her own accord._

_"I'll remember that, Aang..." she whispered before relinquishing her grip to look at him, her blind eyes moving as though searching for his._

* * *

Standing up, Aang gently took Toph's hand and lead her into the shade of a cherry blossom tree.

"You'll burn out there, the sun's past it's peak," he told her, wiping a stray tear from her cheek. Sitting with his back against the tree, he pulled the young girl down to sit next to him. She stiffened slightly before sinking low into the ground, resting her head on Aang's shoulder.

"I keep screwing up, don't I?" he whispered in her ear, eliciting a watery laugh from the earthbender.

"We both do... I wanna forget about what happened, but I can't... I didn't mean to hurt you. I don't know what happened," she mumbled softly. "I don't hate you, Aang..."

_I forgive you..._

Putting his arm around her shoulder, Aang hugged her close. Neither said anything - there was nothing to say. He didn't know what happened, but he didn't mind. She had forgiven him, that was all that mattered - he could live with an injury, because her heart had been healed.

Slowly, he became aware of an idea, tugging at his mind. Well, a question, really. He didn't want to ruin the peace that they had achieved, but it soon became too urgent for him to ignore.

"Toph?" he asked gently, squeezing her shoulder slightly.

"Hmm?" she purred, sending gentle vibrations through his shoulder and to his chest.

"If I ask a question, will you answer it?" he queried in a gentle undertone. Suddenly, he felt her heartbeat skyrocket, and she seemed to petrify. Looking down at her, he could see her eyes had become wide, and she was breathing in short, shallow gasps.

"You don't have to answer if you don't want to..." He couldn't just ask 'what happened'. That would be rude and insensitive, as though he only cared for her now that he felt guilty for leaving. But, perhaps he could find out something, just something small.

Making a small noise, something stuck between a growl and a whimper, Toph nodded. Looking down at the bloodied hand in his lap, Aang opened his mouth before closing it again.

_What could he ask?_

He could ask what she has been up to, or whether she managed to teach someone metalbending. He could ask her to teach him? Or, perhaps she has a boyfriend? Did she keep in touch with anyone else, or how her sixteenth birthday was...

"You gonna ask a question, Twinkles?" she grunted into his shoulder, nudging him slightly.

"Where did you find Sokka's sword?" he questioned in a small voice. Sokka's sword; it was probably the safest subject he could talk about.

Looking down at Toph, he could see a strange expression on her face. He couldn't place it, though. She had kept her features blank, but had she been smiling it would have appeared a grimace. If she were frowning, a snarl.

"It was given to me..." she told him. He could see that there was more to the story - a lot more - however her tone stopped him from asking another question.

"You're really good at it... I think I'd have to enter the Avatar State to beat you!" he exclaimed, evoking another smile from his friend.

"Gimme a week, I'll straighten you out."

The two friends fell into a companionable silence, broken only by birdsong and the gentle noises of tea pots and glasses clinking together.

_Iroh must have opened up the shop_, Aang surmised, listening to the gentle breathing of Toph and the hubbub of conversation as he fell into sleep in the warm sun.

* * *

_That... didn't go as planned..._

* * *

He woke lying on his back on the ground, goosebumps running up the right side of his body; his left was surprisingly warm. Keeping his eyes closed, he snuggled in closer to the warm thing, burying his face it its long hair. Slowly his sleepy mind connected the situation he found himself in with what had occurred before the nap, and he had to actively stop himself from jumping away as he opened his eyes. Using the still-bright-but-setting sun, he realised that he probably couldn't have jumped away no matter how much he squirmed.

Most of Toph's hair had fallen free of her bun, and she was breathing gently into his chest. Her left arm had been draped over his stomach, and her right was under her own belly, latched onto one of his hands with much more strength than he thought possible for the sleeping girl.

Reaching his free hand over, Aang brushed Toph's ebony bangs from her face, smiling slightly to himself. He couldn't believe how thick her hair had become. Even as he moved it to the side, he could see something was off. Her skin had appeared her normal colour when he first saw her the day before, but getting a closer look at her he could see how pale she looked - almost as though she were battling a constant bout of nausea. Her breathing was surprisingly shallow, and Aang could see dark circles under her eyes. The bruised colour shocked Aang - how had he not noticed earlier? Gently running his thumbs over them, he withdrew as she nestled closer into his chest, murmuring something.

"Toph?" Aang asked gently, running his hands through her fringe.

"Mmfphm... Tashi... five more minutes..." she groaned quietly. Aang's eyes widened, and a small crease appeared between them.

"Toph? Come on, we have to get up..."

Opening her eyes slowly, brain foggy, Toph shook her head to remove the lingering traces of sleep.

"Wha- Ta- Aang?" She squinted her eyes as though it would help her see.

"Yeah... we fell asleep. I should probably get Katara to look at my hand..." He trailed off, for some reason unwilling to look at her. Swaying slightly, she sat up, giving Aang room to move.

"I wonder why no-one woke us up earlier...?"

"I don't know," Aang replied, standing up. Offering Toph his hand, he dragged her to her feet; he stumbled slightly when he overestimated how much she weighed.

They walked back into the tea shop, this time hands kept separate; Toph first stopped to pick up the sword, holding it again like a natural.

"I'm really sorry about that, Aang," she said as they walked up the stairs, her voice small.

"Don't worry about it... Katara should be able to heal it..." Looking down, he could see the rag had dried on his hand, becoming stuck in the wound.

Walking through the kitchen, the duo found Katara sipping tea with Zuko and Mai - Sokka and Suki where nowhere to be seen.

"Where's Sokka?" the earthbender asked.

"Aang, Toph! He's at the doctors with Suki," Katara called to them, waving to one of the waiters to collect more tea cups. "We saw you outside but we didn't want to wake- what happened?!" Katara stopped suddenly, noticing the rag around Aang's hand.

"That was my fault. I got a bit excited," Toph told her, lifting the sword up. Aang looked at the young girl, who had even managed to pull off a sheepish smile. Katara unwrapped the soggy rag, gasping as it pulled free from the ripped skin.

"It's just a small cut, it wasn't her fault!" Aang cried out when he saw his girlfriends' face. Toph had forgiven him for abandoning her, the least he could do was make sure she wouldn't get into trouble. Not that she couldn't protect herself - she had definitely proved that she was more than capable. "I got careless, it was just an accident," he added, shrugging noncommittally as Katara used the water in her tea to heal it. Zuko looked absolutely horrified, and even Mai had a slight expression of disgust on her face. Looking down, Aang could see why.

The skin of his palm had ripped off when Katara removed the rag, giving it room to begin bleeding again. Watery blood began to ooze, and a strange liquid appeared on the edges, like tree sap around a broken branch. The strangest thing was that he hadn't felt it at all - even now, he had very little feeling, the water barely discernible on his torn palm.

"This is dreadful, Aang, I didn't think you were so reckless as to fight with a sharpened sword." She glared at Toph as she said this. The earthbender suddenly became very interested in her own feet and mumbled something under her breath. Katara looked back at Aang.

"Why didn't you come to see me sooner? I could have helped," she looked at him with sad eyes. "It's going to scar, there's nothing I can do about it. Just make sure to keep moving it so the muscles heal properly..." Removing the healing water, Aang could see that the skin had reconnected, although it was still very red and blistery. Looking around, he could see that Zuko was the only person who seemed unfazed about his hand - even Mai was looking a little ill. Toph was nowhere to be seen.

"Where did Toph go?" he asked.

"I think she went to the kitchen..." Zuko told him, taking a sip of tea.

Looking towards the door, Aang couldn't see a trace of the earthbending prodigy at all.

"We noticed you sleeping outside." Zuko spoke directly to Aang as he downed the last of his tea. "Has she forgiven you?" he added calmly, looking pointedly at the young monk. Aang looked at Katara, who had a defiant expression on her face.

"Hey, they're our friends, and they needed to know, too." She shrugged her shoulders, completely oblivious to her boyfriends' horrified expression.

Slumping in a chair, Aang took a deep breath.

"She- I mean, I think she forgives me. At the very least, she's willing to forget... I thought she'd hold a grudge for a lot longer..."

Aang looked up to Katara's smiling face. For the corner of his eye he could see Zuko give an approving nod, with Mai smiling so very slightly.

"Is that all?" Katara prompted, looking pointedly at Aang's hand. He followed her gaze, before looking away guiltily.

"It was an accident. She didn't do it." He spoke with honest sincerity, but Aang couldn't keep the confusion and disbelief of his own words from his voice.

"... Aang?"

"Look," he focused on each of his friends in turn. "She did use the sword, but I don't think she wanted to hurt me. It was... weird. She just wanted to beat me, she dulled the edge before we started! But then she got really angry for some reason."

Zuko had leaned back in his chair, just listening to Aang explain. Katara looked worried, and Mai (as usual) appeared bored. Only the slight frown of her mouth showed she thought something was wrong.

"I just-" Katara broke the heavy silence, her voice small and uneasy. "I don't want you to get hurt again. If the sword went through you, I don't even know how much I could help... the damage it could do to your insides... Do you think it will happen again?"

"It doesn't matter." Zuko interrupted her before Aang could answer the question. The Fire Lord saw the confused expressions and felt the need to elaborate. "I mean, when Sokka finds out that Toph is capable of using it, and dangerous, he won't let her keep it. He's been searching for four years - and I know that she refused to give it to him until the end of the week. I was there when she announced it to him. He will rip it from her if he has to..."

The four friends sat in silence, absorbing everything that Zuko had said. It was true that Sokka would trade his last piece of meat for that sword, and now that they realised how terrifying Toph really could be now that she had mastered fighting without bending, he would be scared that her temper would get the better of her - as it had done that day. He had a wife and child to protect, and if anything happened to them because of her, he would never forgive himself or anyone else.

"... I don't think she will have a problem giving it back," Aang announced suddenly. "All she wanted to prove was that she's stronger than we think. She defeated me with a sword when I could use all my bending. But you're right, even if she doesn't want to, we have to make her give it back. I'm- I'm _scared_ of her. She's like my sister, and I'm terrified that she might hurt me, and I know I shouldn't be but I can't help it..." Sucking in a deep breath, he let it out as a low sigh.

"Look, we'll talk to her when she comes back. I know she wouldn't want to hurt you purposely," Zuko piped up. "She would have done so last night if that were the case."

"I just- I'm worried about her. There's so much she's not telling us. Maybe you could talk to her, Zuko? Or at least Iroh? He knows what's going on..."

Aang looked at Zuko, who offered a sharp nod.

"I'll do it."

They sat in silence for a few moments more, before Aang spoke up again.

"Hey Zuko? Can- can you ask her something?"

The scarred ruler looked at the Avatar curiously as he lowered his head, talking in a small, almost ashamed voice.

"Can you ask her who Tashi is?"

* * *

"- And we could put a fire in the fireplace and sleep in the main room. I can pack up all the tables and stuff, and set it up tomorrow. I just thought it would be... nice..."

"Of course, Toph! This is as much your home as it is mine," Iroh told her jubilantly. Her awkward half-smile turned into a full-fledged beam, and she moved forward to wrap her hands around the wizened old man.

"It isn't. It's your home, Iroh..."

He pulled away, only to kneel in front of her.

"Toph," he began, holding her upper arms and looking into her now blank face. "I know you feel as though you are intruding sometimes, but understand that you have brought a little light into the life of a lonely, old man." He smiled a little as he noticed her own mouth curl upwards slightly at the corners.

"This is as much a home to me as it is to you, and as long as you treat it as your own, there are no reasons to ask you to leave." Pulling her into a tight hug, he quickly released her and moved away.

"Now, go and tell your friends!" He shooed, smiling happily at Toph's excitement.

The blind girl ran towards the table she could feel her friends sitting at. They had been discussing something heavy - the heartbeats never lie - but she was too distracted to think much of it.

"Aang! Katara!"

Looking towards the door, Aang could see Toph's bobbing head making its way towards them with a wide grin

"I just spoke to Iroh... If you want, we can all stay here tonight. I mean, clear the tables away and light a fire in the fireplace and sleep in our sleeping bags if you want and-"

"That would be nice," Zuko said, piping up to cease her rambling. Aang noticed how her expression brightened from the slightly panicky one she held only moments before.

"Just like old times, Katara?" he asked, knowing that the waterbender would agree if he asked her to. Nodding, she smiled at the earthbender.

"Just like old times, Toph," she told the young girl, entirely unprepared for her reaction. Expecting a smirk of a person who had received what they wanted, it was a surprise when Toph moved forward and voluntarily hugged each of them in turn, positively beaming.

"I'll go tell Sokka!" she chirped happily, practically running from the tea shop in order to get to his hotel faster.

As the friends looked through the entrance to the tea shop, slightly dazed at the turn of events, a collective thought rustled through their minds.

_It's going to be a good night..._

* * *

Iroh watched from the kitchen as the four children - no, not children; _teenagers_ - raced around collecting the items they would need for the night (and delivering tea to customers if they passed by a specific table). He had hoped that she would want to spend time with them, open herself up a little.

He knew that sooner or later, one of them - probably Aang or Katara - would convince her to talk of herself and how she had changed. He hoped that they were ready for the answer. He hadn't been.

Watching them prepare for the night, it was obvious that each carried their own conflicted feelings of the situation. Aang was flitting about, trying to be helpful and generally just getting in the way. Katara had defaulted into "mommy mode", ready to help Toph overcome her issues. Taking a long drink of spiced hibiscus tea, Iroh doubted that there was a lot the waterbender could do to help. He knew everything that had happened to the young girl, and sometimes a person needed more than just the healing touch of a waterbender, or a good pot of tea. Zuko moved with the purpose and stoicism that dictated years of practise, but he never stayed completely focused on one task - it was Mai's job to make sure the protective-big-brother feelings he had wouldn't cloud actions or judgement.

Looking at the darkened sky, he put his tea pot in the sink and rang a bell that had been placed near the register.

"I apologise, but we are closing early tonight - no, no! Finish your tea, by all means. The shop has merely been... rented out for the night." He winked at Zuko, who gave a small smile.

_It's going to be a good night..._

* * *

Running through the spacious suburb, Toph almost ran into the person she was looking for, only just managing to stop herself before she bowled him over.

"Sokka!" she cried, the glee evident in her voice.

"Toph!" he mimicked with much less enthusiasm. He glanced at Suki, who wore the same confused face as him.

"Come on, everyone's staying at the Jasmine Dragon tonight!" She grabbed the couples' hands and dragged them along, Suki on her left and Sokka on her right. The two older people struggled to keep up with Toph and her exuberant attitude.

"We were planning on celeb-" Sokka began to talk but was quickly shushed by his wife.

"What do you mean, Toph?" Suki spoke up after sending a menacing glare at her husband, stepping lightly over a small hole in the ground.

"Come on," the diminutive girl said, pulling a little harder. She had obviously missed whatever it was Sokka had been about to say; intent on dragging the couple back to the tea shop, she even stumbled several times over the uneven ground.

"Toph, what are we-" Sokka began, before he was interrupted once again.

"I said, everyone is staying at the Jasmine Dragon tonight."

Suki finally managed to stop having her arm ripped from the socket as she caught up the the energetic blind girl. Looking at Toph, the Kyoshi Warrior raised an eyebrow at her giant grin.

"Why?" Sokka interjected, still trailing hopelessly behind.

"Coz I asked, and Iroh said yes. Now, shut up and keep walking."

Sokka jogged slightly to catch up, looking as confused as his wife. Toph only grinned harder.

_It's going to be a good night..._

* * *

_All together once again. Your family - everything you dreamed of, no? It's easy, so, so easy for dreams to become nightmares; you remember, don't you Toph? I heard you today, murmuring his name..._

The Bird Spirit flapped her wings sharply, the black plumes swirling around her menacingly. The feminine features of her face pulled back into a mutated smile, the teeth of ravenous wolves clicking together sharply.

_Time to relive the terror, I think._

She let out a fiendish giggle, a warped sound that held no place on her smooth lips and in her sharp eyes.

_It's going to be a good night..._

* * *

**A/N: Hey, guys! First I wanna start off with Happy Easter! I don't celebrate it, but I'm guessing a fair few of you do? Anyway, I hope you liked that chapter. I honestly didn't mean for it to be this long. Also, this is like, the third version of it because I just couldn't get Toph's character right.**

**I have good news and bad news. Bad news is that I have written about 200 words of the next chapter. Also, I'm doing the White Phial quest in Skyrim, and well, it's a good quest. Good news is that I'm officially on holiday, so I have time to write (and play Skyrim). ****Also, I know how I'm ending the next chapter, and I don't think it will be quite as long.**

**If you guys have any thoughts about what happened to her, I'd love to hear it, because I have no idea.**

**... I have some idea. I'm waiting on my awesome beta, a-dot-fictional-dot-love (henceforth named AFL), yeah, I'm waiting for her (?) opinion. Anyway, I hope you enjoy it, and I'll try to update more frequently (no promises, though).**


	4. Appearances

By the time Toph finally arrived, dragging a grumpy Sokka and a puffing Suki, the rest of the group had already set up the huge serving room. The wooden tables and chairs had been pushed to the side of the large room, and a thick blanket for each person had been laid out. It seemed to Aang - and Katara echoed his sentiment - that after Iroh had told the customers that the shop was to be closing earlier, they rushed to finish their tea. Either that, or they were close to finishing it anyway.

Once the room was empty, save for themselves, the real work could begin. Zuko lit a roaring fire in the barely used hearth, using his bending to ensure it didn't grow too big as Iroh had neglected to buy a guard for it. The four friends had no idea if Toph had anything planned (and, being Toph, they assumed she didn't), so it was up to Aang to organise the sleeping bags and entertainment - not that there was a lot. He ended up writing a list of things that they could do that night, from getting Toph to open up a little (high on the list, but very, very unlikely), to metalbending (towards the top) and pranking Sokka (item number one).

Katara, as usual, had taken it upon herself to cook, and Mai, intrigued by the waterbenders' skill and creativity, had offered to help. This led to a curious blending of traditional Water Tribe cooking techniques, made with Earth Kingdom staples and Fire Nation seasonings and spices. The end result was an exotic meal of roasted ptarmigan-hen for the meat-eaters, and seasoned eggflower for Aang.

Despite having located Sokka and Suki a mere ten minutes after searching for them, Toph didn't return with the couple until a good half-hour after leaving. After pushing the couple into the now thankfully empty teashop, it became apparent why. Sokka was weighed down with a large duffel bag filled with his belongings from the hotel. Just as Katara was about to ask why he had the bag, Toph earthbent herself a small platform and declared, "Fun starts now!" before marching past her friends to presumably go to her room. The group shared bewildered glances whilst Sokka and Suki caught up with exactly _what the hell was going on_, and shared their own news; Toph had forced them to collect their stuff and check out of the hotel - they could sleep at the tea shop, at least while she was there. After coming to the same realisation regarding the meteor sword that Zuko had inspired earlier in the day, Sokka was intent on marching out the back and demanding his sword back. He never had a chance, because at that moment Toph walked back into the room.

She had changed her outfit, and was finally dressed in something appropriate - but that didn't mean that what she was wearing was any less strange. She had removed her torn trousers and the fabric which could barely be described as a shirt, replacing it with a long green kimono, tied with a beige obi. The fabric was an expensive silk that everyone recognised as being worn only by nobles - and had never expected their tomboyish friend to wear, let alone _choose_ to wear. It was rich with the deep green and yellow colours of the Earth Kingdom; the long sleeves were trimmed with a pale sea-foam colour, and the only patterns were the Bei Fong crest on her lapel, with a second unfamiliar insignia sewn directly underneath. The bottom of the dress touched the ground with only the earthbender's little toes sticking out from underneath it. It was a well crafted article; stylish yet elegant, Toph completed the look with her trademark headband (although she had kept her hair down), and a strange necklace that no-one had noticed her wearing earlier. It was of an unidentifiable creature; it had a face like a camelephant, but the body of a tigerox. Before anyone could question her, she walked further into the room and the ear-scratching sound of metal on stone forced most logical thought from everyone's mind as they saw Toph dragging the sheathed sword carelessly behind her. Aang's hand twitched, and he would later swear he had heard Sokka whimper.

"Here," she said, thrusting the handle of the weapon at Sokka. He eyed her warily, not making a single movement to accept or reject his possession.

"Take it!" She shook the handle vigorously, and finally smiled when he took it from her.

"Uh, thanks Toph..." he said dubiously, quickly checking the sheath for scuff marks before putting it aside on a table.

"So, what did you have planned?" Suki asked.

Toph swung her head and stared at the direction of Suki's voice. She opened her mouth as though she were about to answer, but no sound came out.

"What about dinner?" Katara piped up, looking at her young friend curiously. Toph smiled as her eyes brightened, and she nodded her head vigorously.

"Yes, dinner, good. Sounds like a plan." She stood up quickly, followed by Suki.

"I'll help-"

"Sugar Queen, wanna help me?"

Suki and Katara shared a glance, looking furtively at Sokka who was chatting with Mai about different whetstones for a variety of blades.

"Sure, Toph..." The duo walked into the kitchen where Katara quickly divvied the food onto plates that Toph lay gently on the bench.

"Toph?" asked Katara.

"Mmm?" Toph stopped what she was doing and looked at Katara, her green eyes peering out from beneath her hair

Katara looked at the girl and wondered that perhaps she didn't realise.

"Do you have a problem with Suki?" She saw the blind girl's eyes widen, though whether it was shock or guilt she couldn't tell. Toph furrowed her eyebrows and looked at the waterbender curiously.

"No. Why would you think that?" She seemed genuinely confused, and she gave the waterbender a quizzical look before picking up two plates laden with food and taking them to her friends.

"Grubs up! I dunno what it is, but it smells yummy!" she cried, putting the food on the ground before going back into the kitchen and collecting more plates.

"Come on, Katara. Let's eat!" She offered a smile before exiting the kitchen again with more food.

Looking through the archway, Katara shook her head to rid it of the thoughts that swirled there. It was nothing.

* * *

Tapping the surface of a small pond, the Spirit erased the window she was using.

_So picturesque, isn't it?_ She raised a fine eyebrow at the small figure standing dutifully by her side. The person gave a sharp nod, and she smiled again.

_I'm so glad I brought you back... It was a mistake letting you continue on, wasn't it?_

The person bowed his head and uttered a small grunt.

_I thank you for your kindness, Suìmèng. It is a privilege to be in your company._

Only half that statement was true - all of it false from an outsider's perspective; however the poor soul really did believe this was a mercy, bless him. The Spirit flew up to a branch of her tree, leaving the strange being to sit idly by the pond. She ruffled her head and puffed out her feathers, watching the individual. She saw him look up to her, and she made a great show of yawning and closing her eyes. Peeking through the long lashes, she watched as he sat by the edge of the pond. He was swishing the water around with a forefinger, murmuring something that even the spirit couldn't understand.

_Perhaps I should let him go back. The Winter Solstice approaches, hmm that would be best... Oh, Auspicious One!_

She smiled a perfect grin as the boy turned his head, never taking his hand from the water.

_Yes?_

_How would you like to visit Her?_

His eyes lit up, the excitement warping the tree and pond into something colourful and enlivened. It would take weeks to kill the tree, but if he got this excited, the Spirit could only imagine how She would react. It sent tingles up her spine, and she grinned back at the boy. She couldn't wait.

* * *

"Wow, Sugar Queen, have you been practising or what?" Toph exclaimed, putting her chopsticks down on her plate. "She's a keeper, Twinkletoes. That is, keep her in the kitchen!"

Sokka laughed before a harsh glare from his wife silenced him.

"You barely touched it, Toph!" Katara argued, peering over at the girls half-finished plate. Toph merely shrugged.

"A lot more than I normally eat," she responded, standing up. "Is anyone else done? Oh, I know!" Without giving anyone time to respond, she ran into the kitchen with her plate.

"Do you want some help, Toph?" Suki called out to her, but the only reply she received was the banging of pots and pans, and a rather loud "oof".

"I'm okay!" she called from the kitchen, before anyone could ask her what happened.

Shrugging, the rest of them finished their meal. They had grown used to Toph's quirks whilst travelling with her, and despite how much her attitude had changed it was easy to fall into old habits; that included ignoring any cuss words that so far she hadn't seemed inclined to say, not asking her if she wanted the help she so obviously needed, and leaving her alone if she didn't ask them to be with her. After having seen her reactions the previous day, and what Aang had told them about earlier, they seemed reluctant to leave her to her own devices; however, for something so trivial as strange happenings in a kitchen, no one seemed too worried.

It was only after Katara cleared the dishes that they realised they probably should have been worried. Walking into the kitchen, the waterbender nearly dropped the plates when she caught Toph kneeling on the bench, stirring a small pot of what appeared to be burning water.

"What are you doing, Toph?!" she screeched, terrified the blind bender would burn herself on whatever was in the pot. Putting the dishes clumsily on the bench, she turned back to the girl to find her sliding off the bench top.

"Shush, Katara. I'm making something." She pulled the pot from the stove and poured whatever was in there into a bread tin that had been bent into a shallower container.

"What's that?" she asked, fear subsiding as her curiosity was piqued.

"I wanted to make dessert, so I did. It's called 'toffee'."

"Are you sure it's safe?" the waterbender asked dubiously.

"Totally. Just, not at the moment - if you eat it now, you'll burn yourself." Putting the now empty pot on the sink, Toph tugged on the waterbenders sleeve, pulling her from the kitchen.

"Come on, lets have some fun!"

* * *

"Oh, Toph, this is _adorable_!"

The four girls had moved to the small space that was Toph's room. There was no bed, save for a pile of blankets on the floor, and the only piece of furniture was a closet that Katara was currently tearing through, trying on anything that might remotely fit her. Mai was being slightly more careful about it, while Suki had set up a small nest to sit in - she had managed to bring her own clothes, and nothing the slight girl owned would have fit her slowly expanding frame.

"Chill, Sweetness! We are going to get your clothes tomorrow, right? I don't have enough fabric to clothe all of you for long."

Mai only looked at the young girl. "These are _all_ your clothes?"

The blind girl nodded as Katara shrieked again, and began gesturing to Suki. Katara was trying on the various kimono's, paying little mind to the symbolism, rather the colours; it didn't mean she didn't know what they meant, having spent a little over two months in Omashu when the old king was ill.

"Why do you have a _uchikake_?" she asked, raising an eyebrow. Toph's eyes widened before she could hide it, and she looked away.

"I like dancing..." she muttered, hoping that the waterbender would think it was embarrassment. She did, fortunately, because the next thing Toph knew was that she was swept into a conversation about a ball being held.

"-You can dance there! It's going to be really big for the Winter Solstice, and I think the Earth King wanted to celebrate finding a mate for Bosco. Ohh, you can wear this _furisode_, you would look so beautiful in it!"

She knew Katara was smiling and didn't want to ruin the waterbender's fun.

"Well, I'm sure I'll be able to get in... As long as we get an invite for Iroh too!"

Mai, who had been tying a red sash around her sleeping gown raised an eyebrow to Suki, who rubbed her slightly swollen belly and shrugged.

"But!" the diminutive earthbender continued. "I want to wear my green _iromuji_. Iroh would never let me live it down if I didn't." She shrugged, turning away from the bemused, confused and suspicious expressions of Mai, Suki and Katara, respectively.

"I'm sure we can figure something out. It goes with your necklace, too!"

"What is that thing?" Mai asked, peering closer at her neck.

"It's called a Baku," Toph explained, gently touching the carved figure. "Iroh gave it to me. It's like your dreamweaver, Katara. They say it changes shape depending on the dreams you have."

The Water Tribe bender looked at the strange animal, unable to comprehend how such a thing caught good dreams and saved them for the owner, but it didn't matter - she knew the trinkets of her own culture were a placebo anyway.

"Are you done wrecking Toph's wardrobe, yet? I'm bored!" Suki cried, hoping the blind girl would agree. To her shock, Toph just looked at her open-mouthed, as though she hadn't realised she was there; it would have been understandable had she been on any furniture, but the pregnant woman had been resting, squirming around trying to get comfortable, the only thing separating her from the hard ground being a few thin sheets of fabric. Sighing, Katara finished doing the buttons on one of Toph's bigger night dresses.

"We can clean it up later," she said, eliciting a smile and a tug from the earthbender.

"Lets go then, this is boring!"

The four girls exited the small storeroom that doubled as Toph's sleeping space, trying to be as quiet as they could when they walked past Iroh's room (which was pointless, considering Katara's vocalisations only a few minutes previous). Walking into the shop, the boys were obviously having a very important discussion if their own.

"Katara!"  
"Mai!""  
"Suki!"  
"No, Katara! She comes from a patriarchal society, and as a strong, independent wom-"  
"Suki, obviously, she's pregnant!"  
"You guys don't know her, it's definitely Mai!"

"Melon Lord!" Toph cried out, effectively dulling the conversation and announcing to the guys that they had finished.

"Woah, you girls look amazing! I thought you hated girly clothes, Toph?" Sokka said, moving over to Katara and pulling on her kimono. She slapped him away with a huff, as Suki called out, "What about me!"

"Oh, Suki! You're still the most gorgeous, sweetest woman imaginable, and I love you," Sokka told her, pulling her in for a kiss. Aang, Zuko and Toph all looked slightly disgusted at the display of affection, while Katara and Mai both watched, looking at their boyfriend's almost expectantly after a few seconds.

"What?" they asked in unison, almost thankful for the interruption.

"What about us? Aren't we 'gorgeous or sweet'?" Mai asked, her monotonous voice actually containing some form of emotion; on her, though, it was practically unidentifiable.

Zuko and Aang both looked at the other before they moved towards their girlfriends, leaning in for a kiss. The action was paused however, when Toph suddenly yelled, "Sweet!" and ran into the kitchen. They ignored her until they heard a shattering sound, like the dropping of a ceramic pot.

"Toph?" Suki called, breaking away from Sokka. Everyone peered at the dark kitchen , searching for some sign of the girl in the blackness. They heard another sound, this one not something any of them had heard before; it was a gentle scraping or shuffling, not particularly harsh on their ears but unpleasant all the same. Katara took a few steps forward when she reappeared, holding a plate of broken pieces. They seemed to be pieces of glass; only Katara recognised the colour.

"Is that the taffy stuff you made? I thought you made a whole heap..."

"_Toffee_, and yes, it is, and I did - the rest is in the kitchen. Eat it! Well, not you, Aang, you don't need any more energy." She smirked as she felt the airbenders heart drop and he glared at her.

"I'm glaring at you, just so you know."

Toph smiled and pretended to think about it. "Okay, one piece."

By now everyone had crowded around the short girl, and Zuko was prodding carefully at the hard pieces.

"Are you sure, Toph? This doesn't look very edible..." he said hesitantly. She nodded, a smile on her face.

"Try it!" she said, before taking a small piece and stuffing it in her mouth. "Itsh really goom. Thweet," she told them around the object. Hesitating slightly, they each took a piece, crying out as they all bit into the hard substance.

"Ow!"

"Yeah, don't bithe it. Ith boiled canthy." she told them, sucking happily on the sweet. Carefully, her friends took another piece, this time making sure not to bite it.

"Thith thtuff ith really nithe! Juth tho you know, I'm grinning googilly," Aang told her, giggling a little at how stupid he sounded.

"How did you do it?" Mai asked, wisely choosing not to stick the whole thing in her mouth; that is, until she realised how sticky it was making her fingers. Toph took the piece she was sucking on out of her mouth in order to answer the question.

"Apparently my mum made it all the time when she was pregnant with me," Toph told them. "It's made with sugar and water - I always ate it as a kid, and I asked my mum to teach me," she said, before putting the piece back in her mouth. She didn't seem to want to elaborate further, and it wasn't long before everyone was onto their next piece, unable to get enough of the lolly.

The Fire Nobles had never tasted anything so pleasant before; it was curious, not being spicy yet it wasn't bland. Living in the Fire Nation, they had become accustomed to foods bursting with spicy flavours and aromatic sauces - anything less was horrifically boring, generally speaking. Katara and Sokka had for the most part lived on a diet of seafood, and such a strange food was a delicacy. The texture was what had surprised them the most. They had sampled a variety of food - they both lived in the Earth Kingdom - but that being said, the Earth Kingdom was extraordinarily fond of rice dishes, the squishy grain somewhat resembling the soft fish of their homeland.

Aang, being an Air Nomad had an appreciation for food of many cultures, and had been raised on a sweet diet of fresh fruit - the boiled sweet was a new one, and he had never had such a concentration of sugar before. Naturally, Toph regretted giving him the lolly as soon as he began twitching. The only person who had known what to expect of the food was Suki. She knew of toffee, having been raised in the Earth Kingdom (despite Kyoshi Island being effectively a sovereign state), however she had never had the privilege of tasting it - only nobles could afford the refined sugar required for such a dessert.

It didn't take long for the small plate to be devoured, and even less time for the sugar to work its way through their systems. Only Toph seemed unaffected by it - if anything, she just appeared nostalgic. Aang was running up the walls, literally, with Katara suggesting they play a strange Water Tribe game. Sokka agreed, and managed to drag Suki into the fray. Watching curiously, Toph could see how learning the game would be beneficial when living in the icy tundra and faced with a threat of the polar bear dog kind. It involved lying as still as possible, and when one of them shouted, "Safe!", they all had to get up and run as fast as they could to the other side of the room. Suffice to say, Suki didn't play for very long. Even Mai and Zuko seemed especially hyperactive, indulging in a tickle fight that got everyone laughing, and rooting for whomever they wanted to win.

As the night grew longer, the plan to prank Sokka was wiped in favour of sharing humorous tales with one another; reliving last memories and sharing ones that others may have missed out - such as the one of Aang and the Giant Temple Hermit Crabs.

"I swear they were about 5 feet big! They wouldn't let me get close to the Sanctuary for a whole week! I ended up having to throw a smoke bomb in there just to get them to be quiet!"

Toph and Sokka were in stitches over his story.

"An- and then what happened?" She managed to ask, gulping down deep breaths between chortles.

"Turns out there was a "mother crab". She did not like me," he said, which brought forth yet another wave of giggling and general hysterics.

They night wore on, and yet no-one felt the need to suggest sleep. Giggling was exchanged for yawning, although no one seemed to want to retire.

The conversations grew nonsensical, tales of pure fancy - much like a mother would read to her child. The only serious topic was mentioned when the conversation strayed to Toph's prowess with the sword.

"How is your hand looking, Aang?" Katara asked him, a frown of worry on her face. Toph looked away as Aang opened his palm to survey the gash. Or, what had been a gash only a few hours before.

"Fantastic!" he said, almost disbelieving. The loose mottled flesh had been utterly transformed - it no longer looked like a dreadful wound, but an age-old battle scar that had faded over time. He wiggled his fingers experimentally, watching the mark move slightly with each motion.

"Good water," Zuko commented drily as Aang curled his hand into a fist and punched Toph lightly on the shoulder. If she was angry, she didn't show it, although the surprise was evident in her wide eyes.

"Nothing to worry about, Sifu T," he told her, before leaning down to whisper in her ear, "I'm still smiling; no harm, no foul". Her own smile formed, and she punched him back, giggling a little at the grunt he made.

"Hey Toph? You have anymore of that toffee?" Sokka interjected, earning himself a slap from Suki. Toph grinned and returned to the kitchen, collecting the rest of the candy. Sokka shoved several pieces into his mouth, having the expected reaction of sending him absolutely crazy for the next hour in a half.

Finally calming down after Zuko made some chamomile tea (which was challenged, and they ended up having a Tea Tournament that Toph promptly won - _How can she tell?! She's blind!_ cried a pitiful Zuko, to which Sokka just patted his arm and replied, "It's Toph. Don't question it."), the seven friends snuggled deep within their blankets, breathing in the company of one another.

Toph was sleeping in the middle of everyone - a low blow, but it was so comforting to have everyone around her that she didn't call them up on it. On her left was Aang, with Zuko sleeping between him and Mai. Katara had claimed the earthbender's right side, placing Sokka on the end so Suki wouldn't be subjected to the chills of the night - the winter air of Ba Sing Se was far less tropical than the Kyoshi Warrior was used to. Sokka was determined not to have her fall sick during the pregnancy, and Toph had agreed, even suggesting she sleep in the very middle. Looks were exchanged between the warrior and the waterbender, and Suki declined politely. It would have been disagreeable had she milked the situation, but the warrior was, well, a warrior.

Kicking out with his leg, Aang nudged Zuko gently, tilting his head meaningfully in the half-light of the fireplace. The Fire Lord's eyes widened with understanding, and he cleared his throat gently.

"Hey, Toph?"

"Hmm?" The sleepy girl turned her head, focussing on the direction of Zuko's voice and inadvertently staring at Aang. Suffice to say, he was reasonably creeped out and chose to focus instead on the rafters of the ceiling.

"Can I ask you something?"

"Huh-? Ask me tomorrow," she said, yawning. Aang nudged Zuko again, but the Fire Lord ignored him.

"Okay... G'night, Toph."

"'Night, everyone..."

As the seven friends slowly let sleep consume them, Toph's eyes suddenly widened, and she mentally berated herself for forgetting. Turning over, she looked in the direction of Katara and gently pushed her.

"Hey, Katara, are there any candles lit at the moment?" she whispered.

The waterbender looked at her friend curiously, before shaking her head. "No, but there are a few on the mantlepiece unlit..."

Toph nodded as though she knew that they were there. Yawning, she tilted her head in the direction of the monk lying next to her.

"Min- mind getting that for me... Aang..." she asked between yawns. "Ju- just two will do..." He shared a look with Katara before complying.

"Sure thing, Toph..." Getting up slowly so he didn't disturb the blankets, he tiptoed over the the small table which rested the small candles. Tapping the wick lightly with his index finger, his eyes burned a little at the unexpected light.

"Done," he whispered as he moved back to his place, hearing a softly mumbled, "Thanks, Twinks..."

He slid back into his place, a question on his lips, but he as he watched Toph snuggled into her sheets, a tiny, absolutely minuscule smile on her lips, he couldn't break her peace and followed her to sleep, hugging her close.

For the first time in months - surrounded by the company of her friends - the nightmares left Toph alone.

* * *

**A/N: okay, I have a few things I need to get off my chest. Number one; I'm so, so sorry about how late this is. I swear I had the first draft typed up by the end of last month, but my life got in the way, and AFL was so busy she couldn't get to beta this chapter for a while. On a more positive note, I have completed chapters 5 and 6, and so am just waiting for her to get them back to me.**

**Also, I wanna just mention something I forgot last chapter - the fight scene was inspired by this totally awesome wuxia film about a blind girl. I was like "I can't pass up this opportunity". Also, the sword is somewhat important, so it isn't just a case of "let's just give Toph craploads of power". The movie is called House of Flying Daggers, if anyone is interested, and if you can tell me the biggest similarity between that and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, I'll give you a shout out! (Hint; it relates to Zhang Ziyi's characters).**

**Mr Atrocious, you know, I loved your reviews. And your guest username. I thought it was very cool, and I think your review somewhat inspired me to actually go full out and use a fairly dark idea I had been bouncing around. So, yes, this will become exponentially darker. In a few chapters.**

**Would you guys believe me if I said that I had absolutely every intention to have Toph reveal who Tashi was? I did, seriously, but then I thought of this awesome thing later on that sort of hinged on you guys not knowing. It's for the greater good.**

**Anyway, hopefully the next chapter comes sooner, and I love you guys for sticking with me. And I promise to try and tone down how long my authors notes are, because this is becoming ridiculous. Do you people actually read these, anyway?**


	5. Introspection

The sunlight streamed through the various windows, hitting a particularly grumpy firebender in the face. Rolling over to cover his eyes, he unknowingly rolled on top of a rather skittish airbender, who had the misfortune of screaming ridiculously loudly, and waking up the only earthbender he knew with a natural propensity to hurt people when she was happy, and hospitalise them when she wasn't. Fortunately for said airbender, his girlfriend woke up in time to grab the earthbender-meets-Hulk and prevent her from caving in her boyfriend's skull.

"Agh, lemme go, Sugar Queen. I need to beat some brains into your boyfriend. I was finally having a good sleep!" Toph cried, attempting to squirm out of Katara's grip. The waterbender relented only when Aang had jumped up onto a table. When the blind girl realised that she had no way of hurting Aang (well, no easy way), she flopped back and pulled the covers over her eyes.

"I'm going back to sleep," she said, her voice muffled by the thick winter blankets.

"We really should get up," Sokka muttered, rubbing his eyes. Suki was already standing, and with a sickly groan she ran to the bathroom.

"I'll go see if I can help," Katara told her brother. "Just get Toph up, okay?"

Looking from the lump that was Toph to the other boys' faces, Sokka wiggled his fingers and pointed to the bed sheets. With a similarly evil grin, Zuko wrenched the blankets off Toph. Before she had a chance to cry out, Sokka had plucked her up and was holding her aloft, away from the ground she needed to see. Jumping off the table, Aang grabbed one of Toph's flying feet and began tickling it. Soon, Zuko joined in with the other foot, ignoring her threats interspersed with outbreaks of giggles and shrieks of laughter.

"Ack, lemme go!" Toph cried. "I'm... I'm gonna pee myself!"

Relenting immediately, Sokka put her down gingerly, shying away when her fist came into contact with his stomach.

"I know this was your idea, Snoozles," she said, smirking.

Stretching, she rubbed her stomach.

"Breakfast?"

As expected, Sokka nodded eagerly, with Zuko and Aang mumbling agreements. Baring her teeth in a wolfish grin, Toph said, "Kitchen's that-a-way. I'll go and get the girls," before turning and walking out the back to see how Katara and Suki were faring.

As the warm sun hit her face, Toph let a small smile appear on her face. It had been so long - too long - since she had felt so happy and at peace with everyone. Surely she hadn't laughed like that since, well, since she moved in with Iroh. That had been what, five months ago? Something like that.

Thinking about it, Toph even felt a little guilty (although not nearly enough to quell the bubbling feeling of just overwhelming _joy_ that she had felt). That was the way with the world, though; someone shouldn't be happy, a survivor shouldn't be happy, because there were those that had been lost - and Toph had lost so much.

Shaking her head of the remorseful thoughts, Toph immediately turned her attention to the problem at hand. Namely, calling the girls for breakfast when Suki was sure to be puking whatever she had in her stomach. And when that stopped, dry heaving that the blind girl knew to be ten times worse than actual regurgitation.

"Hey, is she feeling okay?" Toph asked Katara during one of Suki's brief respites from vomiting.

"It's just morning sickness. It should pass soon."

"Iroh has a special tea blend that can help with the sickness. Well, any type of sickness really. There was a really nice customer who helped us perfect it, so it should work..." Toph said thoughtfully.

"Do you think I could take it?" Suki asked while wiping her mouth with a damp cloth. Toph looked at her and nodded.

"I'll go see if he has any left. It doesn't keep for very long, but it isn't hard to prepare from scratch," the blind girl said idly.

"Thanks Toph," Suki said gratefully, receiving a small blush from the younger girl as response. Backing out of the bathroom, Toph waited until she was around the corner before smacking herself in the head.

"Go ahead and make it obvious, why don't you?!" she muttered to herself angrily. "Now I know what Katara meant last night, though..." Sighing, she slid down to the ground. The cool stone had helped her through so many sleepless nights; be it here or her home in Gaoling, Toph had never had something so stable and comforting as the earth she bent. Well, not until-

_No! Not thinking about it!_

Toph knew it was a futile effort, though. She had spent so long denying what had happened - she still did. It was the only way to get through the days. The nights and the nightmares brought it all back, and she was tired of fighting it. She was exhausted. Drained. It would be so easy to just stop caring, to stop trying. Who knew, one day she may even forgive herself for giving up - anyone else would have done it under the same circumstances.

Well, no, that wasn't true. She knew of one man who, through insurmountable odds, had overcome the very same problem. Issue. Predicament.

She needed to get Iroh to read to her - she was running out of good words.

Sighing to herself, Toph picked herself up off the now warm concrete, and ambled back inside. To her surprise, she was greeted by the smell of cowbacon and turkey eggs.

"What are you doing?" she asked, closing her eyes and sticking her small nose in the air. "Are you _cooking_?"

"Well, you made food last night, so we thought we should try it," came the reply.

"Is Suki okay?" Sokka questioned, leaving the kitchen to sit next to Toph on the ground - she had figured that they wouldn't need her help.

"Yeah. Iroh has some tea that should help with the morning sickness. It's in the corner cupboard, called Hǎo Qǐlái. I didn't think of the name."

Smiling gratefully, Sokka got up to try and find it. Probably due to the fact that it was a tiny kitchen, with three grown men (well, two and a bit. Toph would never be able to think of Aang as a "man"), Sokka was having difficulty locating the tea. It could have also been due to the fact that he wasn't a very domestic person, and in a tea shop, run by a veritable tea guru, he had no chance.

"Toph!" he whined, sounding remarkably like a baby rabbaroo. "I can't find it!"

Sighing good-naturedly, she got up from the ground, swaying slightly as a small jolt ran through her stomach and up to her head. Pressing her right temple lightly as she waited of the sharp but brief pain to be forgotten, she walked into the now absolutely flooded kitchen.

"Aang, what are you doing?" she asked, feeling his strong heartbeat flitting around the kitchen and not actually helping at all.

"Uhh..."

Smiling, she pushed him out of her way and earthbent a small step for her to stand on. Reaching into one of the cupboards, she carefully sniffed the small containers of tea before handing one to Sokka.

"Here. Put it in the water while its boiling - it'll be sweeter and the leaves won't burn." Pushing herself up to sit on the bench, she cocked her head and said, almost as an afterthought, "Make me one, too. Please."

She could feel Sokka's wide-eyed gaze on her. Smiling softly to herself, she was somewhat prepared for his choking question of, "You aren't _pregnant_, are you, Toph?" It was unexpected for everyone else though; Zuko managed to burn himself (he was a firebender after all), and she heard something loud fall onto the floor, presumably Aang.

"No, Sokka, I'm not pregnant. It's good for any type of sickness, and I just like that tea," she said. "Why, would it be a problem if I was?"

Sokka was quick to raise his hands in what would have been a peace offering had she been able to see it.

"No! No, I mean, if you want a kid, go for it. It's just uh... You need a guy for that..."

She snorted, and smiled directionlessly. "You know, Snoozles, I am sixteen. I know all about the butterfly-birds and hornet-bees." If she could have seen how the three boys' faces paled at the thought of the youngest member of their group knowing about _that stuff_, she never would have let them live it down. As it were, she had to make do with imagining it, because at that moment Katara and Suki decided to return, and wasted no time in pointing out the boys' sudden lack of colour.

"What's up? You look sick - Toph isn't cooking the food, is she?" Katara joked, patting the blind girl on the arm when she uttered an indignant "Hey!"

"Sorry, sweetie, but you aren't the most domestic person I know," Katara said, laughing. "So, what's with the faces?"

Sokka offered a strangled sort of laugh, completely devoid of humour, and Aang seemed to have lost the ability to speak. Zuko sighed and wiped his hands on his clothes, taking the food off the stove.

"Sokka seems unable to comprehend the fact that Toph is now a grown woman and able to have kids if she wants to."

The blind girl smiled smugly as Sokka found his voice.

"Yeah, but you can't have a child without a husband!"

Huffing, she blew her hair from her face.

"Relax, Snoozles. I'm not having kids," she told him. "I'm hungry, and that food smells like its done. Come on!" Without waiting for a reply, she jumped from the bench top and walked out of the room.

"Care to help?" Sokka shouted after her, looking at his friends. They only shrugged.

* * *

During the fairly uneventful breakfast of bacon for the meat eaters and eggs for Aang, it was decided that if they were to attend the ball briefly mentioned the night before, the girls would need to go to a spa and the boys would go to the palace to collect/ask/beg for passes. Mai had declined the invitation for a 'girls day out', instead preferring to go with the boys so she could visit Ty Lee, who was serving as the Kyoshi Warrior liaison to the Earth King.

Suki guzzled down her tea, and congratulated her husband on not burning it. Toph had taken her own sip, and had to concede that perhaps Sokka wasn't so bad at making tea after all. It was nowhere near the quality of Iroh's though, and she was almost ashamed to admit that she had become very fussy regarding her tea. Almost. Katara pulled out her healing water, hoping to ease some of Suki's discomfort. While she worked, the boys packed up the room and Mai did the dishes - for reasons she couldn't fathom, Toph seemed unnecessarily worried about Suki, and refused to leave her side. After several minutes, in which Suki's pained expression lessened as Katara worked the kinks in her back, the waterbender turned to Toph.

"Do you want me to have a look at you too, Toph?"

The blind girls eyes widened momentarily. "Uh, I'm fine..."

"Well, if you're sure. You said the tea helps with other sickness, so I thought you might want a healing." The two girls sat there as Suki quietly excused herself to help Mai finish the dishes.

"I get these headaches... D- d'you think you could help?"

"Sure!" Katara said, a little too excited to be able to help her friend. Surrounding Toph's head in the cool liquid, she slowly rubbed it up and down trying to get the chi flowing through her crown chakra. Moving her hand, Katara could feel a rough buildup of energy in the very centre of Toph's head. Pushing and pulling at the scab, she gasped as a small node of energy burst. The girl groaned and fell back onto the floor, curled in a foetal position with her hands on her head as she rode out the spasms.

"Oh, spirits Toph, I'm so sorry!" The episode went unnoticed by the boys, and Katara shot a glance at Aang. Even when his chi flow was interrupted after Azula shot him, the energy had been nowhere near as powerful or as volatile as the one in Toph's head. Reaching out for her gently, Katara lay her water covered hand on Toph's head and slowly brushed it down her back, feeling the energy within Toph's body as it swirled and contracted. Katara gasped at the complete mess of her insides, and the younger girl trembled under her. Katara wasn't sure if it was the aftermath of the pain, or something else. Working her hand back up the girl's body, Katara wasn't game enough to try and do anything else to heal her. The release of energy in Toph's head had done nothing to affect the girl physically, but Katara didn't want to take any chances.

"Woah, Toph. I didn- I'm sorry, I don-"

Toph sat up, looking as though she would be sick. She had turned ghostly white, and she trembled occasionally as though cold. Picking up Toph's cup of tea, Katara manipulated the water within it so it heated up, and gave it to the small girl. She took it greedily, and when she finished with it, a little colour had returned to her face and she had stopped shaking.

"Trust the cure to be Iroh's tea," she laughed quietly as though trying to forget what had just happened.

"Toph, I don't thin-"

"Hush, Sweetness. I'm used to it now, I just wanted to know if you could help."

Katara would have argued with the young girl, but at that moment Iroh wandered into the shop. His top knot was askew, and he had bags under his eyes (presumably from the racket the teenagers had made the previous night). The marks seemed to vanish when Toph ran up to him to wish him a good morning, although she stumbled a little. They wandered into the kitchen, oblivious to the looks of surprise her open affection for him had garnered. The gentle clinks of tea being poured into a cup was heard, and the murmurings of conversation not necessarily a secret, but perhaps not for everyone to hear.

Toph soon reappeared, a smile on her face as Iroh followed behind. He quickly explained her expression.

"Young Mistress Toph has requested your presence until such a time as you decide to go back to saving the world and whatnot," he told them, smiling in a way that even Zuko couldn't tell the purpose behind it.

"He said you can stay here," she told them, her own face mirroring the old man's. Katara was the first to speak up.

"Are you sure? We don't want to be an imposition..."

"Nonsense, Katara! As long as you allow this old man a peaceful night's rest," he told her, laughing easily. "Now that is sorted, you must allow me to get the store prepared for trade today. Toph mentioned a spa?"

Suki nodded. "We thought it would be something fun we could do together," she explained.

Toph moved forward and grabbed the hands of Katara and Suki, and told them, "You need to get changed. You can't go out in those clothes. Pick the nicer ones. You too, Mai, even if you're just going to a giant palace."

Watching the girls leave the room, Iroh turned to the boys and gave a hearty, "Take care!" before returning to the kitchen. Calling out their goodbyes, they quickly left for the palace - the girls would never forgive themselves if they went to all the trouble to get ready for a party, and were then unable to attend.

* * *

It was when the girls, sans Mai, arrived at The Fancy Lady Day Spa that Katara found an opportunity to ask Toph of her strange behaviour.

"So, Toph..." she asked as they walked up the stairs into the spa.

"Yeah?"

"What was with that this morning?"

"What part? The part where my brain exploded, or was it when you discovered that Sokka actually could make reasonable tea, and your fear of him poisoning you all these years has been unfounded?" Toph had taken a seat on one of the plush couches, and had proceeded to rub her filthy fingers and feet gloriously into the pale green silk. With an expression torn between laughter at the younger girl's antics, or horror that she had ruined a perfectly good lounge, Katara sat next to her while Suki booked the treatments.

"The whole pregnancy thing. What started it?"

"Oh, that." She waved her hand dismissively. "That was nothing. I wanted some of the tea that Sokka was making to help with the morning sickness, and he jumped to the conclusion."

"Oh," was all the response Katara gave. "You- you aren't, are you?"

Toph turned her sightless eyes on Katara, the blank green orbs glazed over with repressed emotion.

"I'm not ever having kids, Katara..."

"Toph, I could see, when I tried healing you, I saw-"

"Look. I don't want to talk about it. If I want you to know something, you'll know it - until then, can you please just not say anything about rumours, or theories, or things you think you've seen. I know what's happened to me, Katara, and I don't really want you to know."

"You know what happened to you? So something _did_ happen. Toph, I'm your friend! I can help you, you know. You don't always have to do things on your own!" Katara cried, pleading with the younger girl.

Toph glanced in her direction, a scornful expression on her face. "That's what Aang said too, you know. He said he can help. I'll tell you what I said. He can't help. You can't help. The only person who could possibly understand is Iroh, and even then... Just, leave it alone. Please"

The waterbender would have questioned Toph's suddenly dour mood, however Suki chose that time to approach them.

"They're ready for us. First, Toph, you have a mud bath while Katara and I get pedicures - I know you don't like people touching your feet. Then, we all have manicures and I have a facial. You two have a session in the sauna. Is that all right? I can't have a mud bath or go in the sauna because of the baby, and I know how fussy Katara would be if she got dirt in her hair." Suki offered a small laugh and an apologetic smile. Toph only shrugged, before following one of the attendants to the bathhouses. Katara watched the young girl until she was out if sight, before hitching up the bottom of the borrowed kimono and following Suki into another room.

"What's up with Toph?" the Kyoshi Warrior asked, as soon as she was sure the blind girl wouldn't overhear them.

"Honestly? I don't know," Katara admitted, reclining luxuriously as one of the attendants took a hold of her foot. "There's something really, really wrong, and she won't talk about it. I don't think it's connected to whatever happened those years ago with Aang - at least not directly."

Suki nodded, looking away so she wouldn't meet Katara's eyes. "I guess..." she said softly.

"You think she has a problem with you, don't you?" Katara guessed, watching Suki's eyes widen, looking away again almost as soon as she noticed the change.

"Don't you?"

Sighing, Katara leaned back in her chair. She had noticed the difference - Suki had too, obviously, but it seemed as though none of the boys thought her any different. That set off alarm bells as in the waterbender's experience, boys were only oblivious about certain things - love, growing up, and fashion. If they hadn't noticed anything wrong, Katara assumed it had to be one of those things.

"I can talk to her, but I don't know how much she's going to tell me... She's all sort of closed off - I think she only really talks to Iroh..."

"What if I try talking to her?" Suki offered carefully. "I mean, she doesn't have a problem with you..."

"Look, we don't even know if it is a problem! She did offer you tea..."

"Katara." The way Suki said her name made Katara sit up just a little straighter. "She hasn't said anything to me - she won't even answer my questions. You can't say you haven't noticed that she's barely spoken to Sokka either."

"You don't think-"

Suki cut her off impatiently. "All I'm saying is, that letter Aang sent? Maybe he was right."

The two friends lapsed into silence, each keenly aware that there was something - and something big - that their youngest friend was keeping from them, and neither was happy about the possibilities of what it might be.

When the two girls finally reunited with a very pink looking Toph, both were absolutely dreading a conversation with her. Thankfully seated on wooden furniture, Katara and Suki made sure to keep their feet off the floor so she couldn't sense how nervous they were.

"I'm going to go to the bathroom!" Katara declared suddenly, eliciting a raised eyebrow from Toph and a panicked expression from Suki.

"Good luck with that, Sweetness..."

Katara backed out of the room somewhat awkwardly, shooting Suki a pointed glare.

"So, Toph..." the pregnant woman trailed off as Toph raised her eyebrow. "Uhh... Thanks, you know, for the tea... It really helped."

The blind girl stared straight ahead, but offered a small smile. "It's good tea."

"Yeah, it really helped. I didn't know you knew anything about tea!"

Toph turned her head slightly to face her companion, before looking away. She did this several times, as though fighting with her own intentions - _did she want to answer? _Opening and shutting her mouth, it took a few more seconds for her to answer.

"You pick things up, living with Iroh."

"He's a lovely man. How long have you lived with him?" Suki pressed, her fears assuaged for the time being.

"A few months," Toph admitted, the words coming easier the longer she talked. Suki smiled a little. It didn't matter that she wouldn't look at her - she was blind, after all - and wouldn't strike up a conversation. They were talking.

"Why?"

The innocent word slipped out, and Suki knew immediately that she shouldn't have asked such a question. Toph's brows furrowed, and she sunk low into her chair. The smile had been wiped from her face, and she had retreated into herself.

"Toph?"

"... Do- I wonder where Katara is? She's taking a long time..." she said more to herself than the pregnant warrior. Suki didn't make any more attempts to talk to her, even as the young girl perked up when Katara reappeared. Whatever fragile emotional strings kept Toph together, Suki didn't want to be the one to severe them, even accidentally.

She was fearful then, when they arrived back at the tea shop and Toph walked straight out the back to find Iroh, barely acknowledging the regular customers who loved the sweet girl as her two friends located a table in the corner.

Suki knew that Katara was burning with curiosity - she could see it in her bright blue eyes, and feverish expression. The warrior bit her lip, not needing any verbal prodding from her friend. Before she could say anything, there was a small cough, and they looked up to see Sokka standing over them, a tray of tea in his hands. Aang waved over to them from the Pai Sho table with a goofy smile.

"Zuko went to get Mai - he wanted to say hi to Ty Lee too," Sokka said, laying the tray on the table.

"Did you manage to get us on the list?" Suki asked her husband, who broke out into a giant smile. Scowling, Aang sat down and answered the question for him.

"Zuko and I did. He managed to locate the largest kitchen and proceed to eat all the contents. I think the Earth King has doubled his catering order now that we're coming."

Katara giggled whilst Suki admonished her husband.

"It doesn't start until tomorrow night - we were lucky to get in. Did you have any plans for tomorrow? Toph hasn't said anything about her plans here," Aang said before frowning and looking around. "Where is she?"

At once Katara grew silent and Suki solemn.

"She went out back, probably to find Iroh. I can go and look for her..." Katara said, looking at Suki. The warrior shook her head, and waved her hand.

"I'll do it," Suki told her, shuffling out of the booth. Katara could fill them in with the recent developments.

Walking out into the kitchen, Suki watched as Iroh kneeled in front of Toph, hugging her. He was talking, but she only managed to catch the proverb he spoke - louder than his usual timbre, she noted with a small smile.

"Do not allow this to drag you down once again - a broken ship will sink if it has too much to carry. However, if you throw overboard that which is pulling it down, the ship will survive to see another day."

Iroh moved away from Toph, and both he and Suki watched as she ran past the warrior and over to Sokka. She leapt onto him, wrapping her arms around his throat as she whispered something that no-one else could hear. They could see him whisper something back to her, and hug her tighter. Smiling at the scene in front of him, Iroh knew he would go to the ends of the world for that girl, but he also knew that he couldn't do it alone. If she wanted to truly get better, she would need to let her friends in too. She was still clutching onto Sokka, and Katara was rubbing her back.

Looking away from the intimate, child-like scene in front of him, he caught the eye of Suki. She gave a small smile, nothing more than a twitch at the corners of her mouth, but it was enough to convince him that she didn't take it personally. He watched her approach the table. With a start, Iroh saw Toph unlatch herself from Sokka, only to place her arms around Suki's neck, careful not to put too much force behind it.

Finally, Iroh smiled.

_She's getting better._

* * *

Scowling at the pond, the spirit struck it with a feathered wing, erasing the image.

_She's getting better. How is that - after this morning she should be wrought with pain! Boy!_

She whipped her head around, searching the wilting tree's roots and underbrush in a frenzy, looking for any trace of the poor soul trapped with her.

_Boy!_

Pushing reeds to the side, she found the small spirit lying in the mud. He was sleeping safely as the dirty arms surrounded him. She hissed at him, and he woke up with surprise. Now she knew why the blind girl was feeling so content.

_I'm sorry,_ she said, fluttering her lashes_. I thought you were a dangerous intruder. Come along - it isn't safe here._

He looked up at her with wide eyes, believing everything she told him. Following obediently, she brushed the mud from him.

_You have to look nice for your date. We haven't got long, only one more mortal moon cycle,_ she crooned.

_Thank you. You don't know what this means to me._

Her lips curled up in what she thought must have been a smile, and she opened her mouth slowly.

_Now, run along. I have a lot to prepare, she told him._

He bowed at her feet, and moved off to the pond. He would be there for hours - she had time to get everything ready. She was about to fly to the top of her tree, when she heard a noise not found in her lair for many centuries.

_That was unnecessary..._

The Bird Spirit whipped around, an angry snarl on her feminine features.

_What are you doing here?! Leave me! This is not your business!_

The uninvited guest laughed, a deep hollow sound devoid of humour.

_Xié Jiàng, by doing this once again you have made it my business. I will not hesitate to intervene._

_And they say history doesn't repeat itself. They say that we spirits are too wise to make the same mistakes..._

_My dear, you are not doing this by mistake. I will not sit by, I will stop you._

The Bird Spirit let out a laugh of her own. Her light laugh contained all of the humour that her counterpart's had lacked.

_You won't stop me - you couldn't last time. I merely play with them; you wrecked his life._

_Ah, but he did not kill me, did he? And this time, he will be prepared. You will not succeed again. Your games don't work here._

_And what of your games? You play with the mortals too. And you enjoy it._

_I enjoy it because it is a game. There are rules that even I follow. You are rogue - it will not be long before a spirit greater than I steps in to stop your meddling. Consider yourself warned._

Without another word, the intruder left, scuttling across to his own part of the Spirit World in which he called his home.

_Just try and stop me,_ she thought to herself.

* * *

Iroh had one condition when allowing everyone to stay over - don't break his tea pots. Considering how hectic things had been the previous night, it was decided that to give him peace of mind, Aang would erect and earth tent for them to sleep in. Zuko returned not long after the plan was decided, and was promptly put to work creating a fire in a small pit Sokka had dug. While Katara and Aang, along with Mai, went back to the hotel to collect their clothes and belongings (which would be stored in Toph's room), Suki began preparing dinner with the help of the blind girl, although Toph wouldn't (or couldn't?) speak a word to her.

The group was far more subdued that night, choosing to sit around the warm fire and bask in each others company. Katara couldn't stop chatting about the party, going into great detail the clothes she would wear - it would be a flowing blue gown, with different layers that swirled around her -, while her brother explained all the different sorts of food he wanted to eat - even the vegetarian options. Aang was discussing with Zuko and Mai the vastly different customs of the Air Nomads regarding marriage ceremonies and the different ways in which elders were treated and respected - Mai in particular was interested in their propensity for flinging pies at the elders of the community, an action tantamount to treason in the Fire Nation.

Toph, for reasons that none but her knew, seemed unwilling to leave Suki's side now that the two had (somehow) made up for all the ignoring and awkward silences they had shared in each other's company. Toph had made her bed next to the Kyoshi Warrior's, and was sitting on her other side, hand placed firmly above the warrior's own. No-one dared breach the subject with her, although many sidelong glances and surreptitious nods conveyed the message between the seeing members of the Gaang that they couldn't continue the charade of normalcy for too much longer.

Eventually, as does happen with pregnant woman, Suki yawned a final yawn and announced her intentions.

"I'm beat... I think I'm gonna go to sleep..."

She kissed Sokka on the cheek and stood up slowly. Katara glanced over at Toph - she had a worried expression to rival Sokka's on a bad morning sickness day; she made no action to move to her own bed however, choosing to remain in her seat by the fire.

Aang was still talking to Mai and Zuko, and so the glances shared by the Water Tribe family were missed by them in Aang's storytelling fervour. Without warning, Toph stood up and made her way towards where Suki was settling in for the night. At the sight of the earthbender, she sat up looking slightly confused. Toph kneeled in front of the warrior with her head bowed. They shared a few whispered words, unidentifiable to the Southern siblings, when all of a sudden Suki leaned forward and kissed Toph gently on her forehead. She released the younger girl and lay down on the thick blankets, hand resting protectively over her stomach. Toph stood up and made her way towards the group, sitting in Sokka's lap when he opened his arms out for her.

"Are you okay, Toph?" Katara asked quietly, the unspoken vow that they wouldn't try and force her to tell them fluttering at the edge of her mind. The earthbender nodded, sinking deep into Sokka's protective arms.

"I'm okay. D'you think I could spend some time with you tomorrow, Sokka?"

"I don't see why not," he whispered in her ear, loud enough for Katara to pick up what he said. "I think it's time for us to go to bed, too. We're going to have a long night tomorrow."

Giving her one last squeeze, Sokka let go of Toph and stood up. The actions attracted the attention of Aang, who stopped talking to send them a questioning glance.

"It's getting late - we're going to bed," Sokka explained, helping Toph to her feet before holding a hand out for Katara to grab.

"Good idea."

As Aang made his way towards the earth tent, followed slowly by Mai and Zuko, he felt a tugging on his sleeve.

"Toph? What's up?"

She had her face pointed towards him, but her blind eyes kept glancing away. In a quiet voice, she said, "Could you light those candles for me again?"

He nodded, confused by her actions and her words; she seemed almost afraid of asking for his help.

"'Course I can. Why do you-"

She cut him off with a friendly punch to his shoulder.

"Thanks, Twinkletoes."

That night, the nightmares came back.

* * *

**A/N: Hey, look! The Spirit has a name now. And then I had to screw with you. Sorry about that, but again, important. Oh, and look, another chapter. You guys better love me for this :D If you have a chance, go an read AFL's story. She's really awesome :)**

**Also, the line about Toph wrecking an expensive couch was just supposed to be filthy feet, but I was listening to Flithy Fingers by Florrible and Misrabella when I wrote it, so I had to add it in (coincidentally, if anyone can get a hold of their album, 'Someone Spilt Snakebite On My Espadrille', I will create a character of you. I will write a story about you. I will bath your feet in myrrh and hand feed you grapes. I really want that album).**

**Chapter 6 is done! It's been sent! It's super short, so I don't know how long you're gonna have to wait for it. I haven't started chapter 7 yet, and I actually had someone complain about the lack of angst - DON'T WORRY!**

**Angsty Toph will be back in a few chapters (it's somewhat sad next chapter, btw)**

**Looking forward to your reviews *hint hint* (・ω・)ノ**


	6. The Fireflies

Toph had always assumed she didn't dream as other people did. When she spoke to her friends about it - many, _many_ years ago - this assumption was proven accurate. She spent several hours with Katara, Sokka and Aang just discussing the different effects of the night-visions. She felt as though only she had learnt something - that her explanations weren't vivid enough for people so used to creative and concise descriptions. They just couldn't imagine it. She could imagine everything they spoke of (except colours, of course, but she had received a fairly energetic explanation of them from Aang several months prior to the 'dream' conversation).

When Sokka spoke of dreams, he talked of different foods, eating them but not tasting anything - he didn't realise it at the time, of course, but he was essentially hallucinating in his sleep. The only time he came close to dreaming like her was when he explained his nightmares. He only had them during the full moon, and only for a few months. He explained his feelings of complete dread, the utter suffocation of loneliness, and then laughed a little at the thought of Toph knowing what being alone felt like. She hadn't laughed.

When Aang told her his dreams, he always went off on a tangent. He would begin to talk about his adventures in his own mind, and then talk of things he wanted to do and try. His explanations of his dreams would be filled with colours and experiences; the moods of his past lives influenced his dreams, apparently.

When Katara dreamed, it was of sights and sounds. Places she had visited and heard of, from different realms of the Spirit World (courtesy of Aang) to the different lives of her friends. She would envision places that her friends had been - Zuko had an amazing voice for storytelling, and when he spoke of the Sun Warriors' Temple, she felt as though she had been with him during the adventure. Heck, when he spoke of lush green fields, and changing leaves of autumn; the red robin-sparrows in the trees and just the complete beauty of his homeland, Toph felt as though she could see it too.

Toph never told her friends of her dreams, of her nightmares. There was no way they could grasp how she truly dreamt - even Aang relied on his eyes too much to really understand seismic sense as a way to perceive the world. He could see with it, but he couldn't _see_. It was pointless trying to talk about the happenings in the deepest recesses of her mind when they couldn't fathom it, in the same way that she didn't understand the concept of colour.

As a result, when she awoke in the middle of the night, crying out as she trembled from head to foot in cool sweats and feeling as though she couldn't breath, there was no way they could comfort her. She sat, shivering against a stone wall in the darkness that was her world, not daring to move or make a sound should she remember what she had dreamt of. She sat there, wrapped in her blankets just focussing on the breathing of her friends as she calmed her own shuddering breaths.

"Toph?"

The blind girl didn't jump at the soft voice of Katara piercing through the air, dulled with the breathing of sleeping teenagers. She raised her head a little at the sound, but made no other acknowledgment.

"Toph, are you okay?"

Katara stood up and made her way to where Toph was sitting, walking over the prone forms of her sleeping friends. Her face was lit with the glowing embers of the fire and the fireflies that had gathered in a vain attempt to see what the fuss was about - people sleeping outside in the Upper Ring? Preposterous!

"I'm fine, Katara. I just had a nightmare," Toph told her, although she wouldn't have been able to convince a blind person - she couldn't even convince herself. The denial came out weak and breathy, and although it wasn't the first time she had awoken in such a state, Toph was quite unprepared for how to react when one of her friends saw such a display.

"You wanna talk about it?" she asked, sitting down and wrapping her arms around the slight girl. Toph leaned her head onto Katara's shoulder.

"Not really. I just wanna go back to sleep," Toph told her, but made no move to push her off.

"Toph..." Katara began, trailing off before she could say something and ruin the heavy peace between the two.

"There's something you wanna ask me, isn't there?" Toph deduced, and Katara gave a wan smile.

"Yeah, but it can wait. Can't we just talk?"

Toph sunk further into Katara, and took a breath.

"Where is Appa? Or Momo?" she asked quietly, the small voice dispelling the lingering feeling of malcontent as the fire glowed next to them. There had to be at least thirty of the little glowing creatures now, dancing around one another and playing on the soft breeze that flowed through their make-shift campground. At once, Katara felt an immense amount of sadness for the young girl who would never get to see such sights.

"We've been here for three days and you're only asking now?"

Toph shrugged and made a small motion with her hand. Slowly, a rock wall rose behind them, and she leaned back. Katara followed suit and draped a blanket over the two of them.

"I didn't think of it," Toph said simply.

Katara raised an eyebrow and answered the question. "Aang and I took a ferry and a train here, because we, uh, we found a colony of sky bison... there were only about a dozen, and Appa became really attached to one. Soon, we're going to have a few little baby bison flying around. Momo stayed with them too."

Toph let out a small sound, no louder than an _aww_, but she didn't sound happy.

"What's wrong Toph? Is it because of what I said this morning? Or what I did? I didn't realise..."

Toph shook her head violently against Katara and sighed again. "It wasn't you. I have those headaches occasionally. It gets worse around this time of the month, but I'm not sure why..."

"Well... It might be because its your _time of the month_," Katara suggested as delicately as possible.

"...I- I don't get it," Toph replied, and Katara opened her mouth to explain.

"Well, your body changes during that time, and it might be affecting your chi..."

Toph snorted and Katara looked at her in surprise.

"I know what you're talking about, Katara. I'm sixteen. What I mean is that I _don't get it_. It doesn't happen to me anymore."

Katara's eyes widened. "Oh... Oh! ... uh, it'll happen, don't worry. Unless... it did- oh my spirits Toph, does that mean- really? I didn't think you would- oh, but it doesn't matter!" She beamed as the blind girl looked up at her, confused.

"What?"

"I felt a whole heap of energy in your body today - congratulations!"

Toph could feel the sunny disposition radiating from her friend and frowned.

"I told you to forget about what happened, Kat. I said I don't want to get into it..."

"Toph, it's okay. I won't tell anyone - wait, hold on. Do your parents know about this? I mean, you are unwed, and having a kid is- oh, spirits! Who's the father?! We should get you some maternity clothes. And I'm going to need to have a look to make sure it's not putting too much strain on your body - you are very slight, you know, an-"

Before she could get too carried away, Katara was stopped by a hand covering her mouth. Toph glared up at her, but it wasn't all anger; something undefinable sparkled in her green glowing orbs.

"Stop, Katara. I mean it. Don't do anything. Pretend like this never happened, okay? I don't need you writing letters to relatives or making a fuss over nothing. I don't need healing, or check ups or anything, okay, so live out your midwife dream on Suki, not me."

Katara cowered slightly under Toph's stern glare. Even though she hadn't shouted, the blind girls voice brooked no argument and Katara at once felt guilty for meddling.

"Toph...?" she asked cautiously. "Are you... ashamed?"

"Ashamed about what? You keep saying these things that don't make sense. I think you should go back to sleep." Toph slid down the wall and lay at its base, her back to Katara. The waterbender's heart fell a little at the sight, but she refused to let the stubborn girl hide away for much longer.

"Toph... Can I tell you something?" Katara requested gently, reaching a hand over to play with Toph's hair. The earthbender gave a noncommittal shrug, and Katara took it as a positive sign.

"I was so excited when Zuko invited me here. I wanted to see Sokka and Suki - I mean, my big brother was going to become a dad! I'm going to be an aunt! I couldn't wait for us all to be back together with Iroh... but you wanna know what I was most excited about - and upset about?"

Toph remained silent, although she turned a little further away from Katara. The waterbenders soft hands began rubbing circles into her back.

"I was excited because I would get to see my little sister again. And you know what I was sad about? I missed you growing up. Us, the whole gang, we promised we'd be there for each other whenever someone needed a hand to lead them, or a shoulder to cry on. I don't know what happened to you, and I don't know why you won't tell us... but I wanna give you my hand or my shoulder... " she trailed off, her hand still rubbing up and down her back.

"I'm sorry, Katara..." Toph mumbled. "But I only need myself. I'll get through it..."

Katara looked at the back of Toph's head, trying to get inside it and understand.

"I don't want you to need me, sweetie," Katara soothed, her hand never leaving her friends back. "I want you to want me to help..."

Toph whispered something that was lost to Katara, and she had to lean in to hear it.

"Sorry, sweetie?"

Toph repeated herself, and Katara was surprised to find her voice trembling.

"Ther-theres an old Earth Army saying. I for-forgot about it... It held battalions together, d-during the darkest m-moments of the war... Maybe I was wrong..."

She sniffled, and Katara began stroking her hair.

"What was it?"

Toph turned and faced Katara, eyes meeting for a fraction of a second.

"Wh-when you can't run, you cr-crawl. And when you can't d-do that..."

Katara finished the sentiment for her.

"You find someone to carry you..."

* * *

**A/N: okay, important thing I need to address; guest reviewer... whatever number. The most recent one. This is a short chapter, however it isn't for you. When you skim, you're missing half the story. I like detail, and I use it to hide important plot elements - like foreshadowing. Everything I write has a purpose at the time of it being written, and if you aren't reading it all, then you're missing out.**

**The quote at the very end is from the _Firefly_ episode 'The Message' - one of my favourites - and also inspired the title of this chapter. Chapter 7 is progressing slowly, because I'm writing it a little differently than I usually do. I have a lot of testing at school and you probably aren't even reading this. Actually, I'm gonna say props to Pegelia for reviewing when drunk. That's commitment ;) and to AFL who still continues to beta just as well as she has been, despite her own life and tests etc.**


	7. Alien

**A/N: I don't normally do this, but I wrote a lot of this chapter whilst listening to Florence + The Machine's _Cosmic Love_. Have a listen to it, it sort of sets the mood...**

* * *

_Shaking, twisting, turning._

_Fear, undefined, unfathomable, the depths of which has never been felt by the tiny child subjected to it._

_Laughter, warped and cold. It chills her to the bones and yet she is unable to drown it out._

_Her breath becomes ragged, the air escaping before she can suck it in. She panics, whirling around as though she might see the cause of her distress. She doesn't - she never has and never will - but the knowledge only serves to terrify her further as she runs naked, away from the voice that so easily infects her mind. The creature, the Fear, chases her, whispering secrets and lies as she tries desperately to ignore it, to swallow the unbelievable dread rising in her stomach like bile. It flavours her mouth with mutated tastes, the overripe fruit of lost opportunities making her gag and scream out in anguish and pain._

_She is lost._

_She is abandoned._

_She is alone._

_The laughter sounds, a call to arms warning those that would try to help her that the foe is much greater than they can fathom._

Help me! _she screams to the nothingness, the black world that is hers. _Save me!

How can people save you if you do not let them? _a silky voice asks, so unlike the one that plagues her. The girl, tears streaming, stops running. She imagines a corner to curl into, she imagines forgetting, ignoring, but the strange voice comes back. She collapses on the ground, so cool and inviting yet hot and disgusting, her body bare and mind open, for she has lost the control to protect herself._

_He tells her of her foolishness, spouting riddles that can't help but remind her of Iroh, and the tears begin anew that the gentle man cannot comfort her. There is but one who has ever calmed her distraught mind, but he is gone, lost._

_Just like she is._

_The silky voice continues his tirade, the dripping disappointment setting her teeth on edge as she listens; and she is willing to listen, for this voice drowns out the wicked lies and insults that She, the first one, whispers in her mind._

_Shrieks sound, warped with echoes and pain and desolation that is both in her and of her. She is no longer alone, but she wishes to be if only so she can suffer with silence, not the prolonged destitution in her heart. Her heart, her dark world aches, desperate for a splash of sun to guide her._

_Somewhere, a baby cries._

_She hears one other, and prays silently to the spirits. He has come back for her, like he does every night. For a single moment, a speck of time that spanned the life of all avatars to her, she hears Him. But, it isn't; the one that she lost and was lost is gone, no matter how much she wishes the opposite. Her eyes twinkle with renewed hope, though, because for another night she can be with _Him_, before it gives away to a bleak future as she realises that it is temporary. The future she wants is impossible. It cannot be possible - it shouldn't be, and she knows that it isn't._

_She hears Him come closer, gentle steps reverberating around the empty world. The silky voice has retreated - she knows it will be back, but for whatever life she has left inside, she cannot bring herself to care, to worry. The girl knows that the Fear is out there - _She_ hasn't fallen silent, the heavy breathing weighing down on her, but for the first time the girl cannot find it in her to give up. The man she most admires fought and battled, and he imparts his wisdom on her, wisdom one can only gain through loss and defeat._

Toph?_ the stranger, not so strange, stops in front of her. The only thing that separates the two are her knees, curled up under her chin. Her hair is brushed from her face as he peers into her useless eyes, arms snaking around her naked back to envelope her in his grip. She slowly releases her hold on herself, allowing him to come closer as she collapses on him in a heap, a mess, as she has done every night for the past year._

_She runs her hand through his hair, along his face, sucking in details she may have missed during the other rendezvous. She hasn't, of course, and soon his gentle hands, calloused like hers, are running up and down her face, her arms, in her hair and he soaks her in, solidifying the memories._

_She imagines a field, wild poppies dancing in the breeze as she lies with Him. She can feel the wind caressing her skin before it is replaced by his lithe fingers. They tickle her and she squirms into his grip, lying on his chest as she rests her head on his heart. She hears nothing, and taps out her own beat. It is fainter this time, and she knows she hasn't long to wait._

_Slowly, delicately, softly, she feels the touch of his lips upon her hair, and she looks towards him as he places them on on her forehead, gently kissing between her eyes and down to her small nose before hovering above her lips. She closes the distance, her tears mixing with the sweet taste of his as they melt into one another. For another night, she is happy._

_For another night, she is safe._

_She falls asleep in her dreamworld, in her fantasy, to wake up in life. That is her dream, really. But this time, she doesn't. This time, as her eyes open uselessly, she is not surrounded by her friends. She is not surrounded by her mentor. And she is not surrounded by her lover._

_The Fear breaks over her in waves. It crashes and consumes her as she begins to realise that perhaps it is not he who is gone, but her. Her heart breaks as the darkness envelops her heart once again. She curls into her herself, the voices returning as they scrutinise her. Every fibre of her being is open to the Spirits as they mock and taunt her with their control._

_She hopes for the nightmare to end, but of course it doesn't. Even if she could find a way to wake up, the nightmare would continue to plague her. The happy friends she has gathered suck her own joy as she tries to forget - they don't let her forget._

_She is sobbing now. The choking gasps push their way past the lump - her heart in her throat; she refuses to believe the pain is real, because she knows she is unable to go on if she finally acknowledges it. Crying curled, prostrate with solitariness and dereliction, she does not feel a person approaching. She does not realise he is not the one she is looking for until he reaches a hand out touching her as he softly speaks her name. The gentle word seems to scream out for her as she realises that there is another with her, another she didn't expect in her dreamscape._

_She unfurls, like a fern reaching for the sun; he is her sun, temporarily covered by clouds but shining even brighter because of it. He is not who she wants, but he is who she needs, and she throws herself into him, their naked bodies meeting as she breaks down on his shoulder._

Aang_, she breaths, sobs into him as he strokes her back and hair, gently soothing her. The feminine voice has all but disappeared, taking the suffocating atmosphere with her as it retreats in anger. The girl breaths a sigh of relief as the silken voice washes over her - she does not see her companion stiffen at the sound, she doesn't notice him move until her head is on his chest. She hears his own heartbeat as he hides her face from the dark world, the mad world of shadows and secrets._

_They lay back, this time surrounded not by poppies but daffodils as he holds her close._

He's back_, she whispers to him, reverently, and for a moment he cannot understand the meaning. It takes but a second for him to become conscious of one other being. The boy teases her hair over her face, covering it as he shuts his eyes. He gently rocks her, ignoring the voice as he convinces her body to sleep. The fierce frown disappears quickly, and he steals away into the gloom, knowing she will be safe._

_It doesn't take long for him to reach to edges of her mind. He has passed through such dreadful things, but cannot hope to unravel that which she doesn't want to share. He is an alien within her, more foreign than the strange creatures that inhabit her mind._

_He sits on the very edge, looking over what could and may happen. The possibilities overwhelm him and he closes his eyes and begins to speak. The anger is hidden from his features and tone, but the voices understand his fury; they feel it in the air, infecting the small world that isn't his to alter. They laugh at the futility, and he calms himself. He can feel the presence of three, and the lingering scent of one other. His old friend is sleeping, dreaming hopefully of better, of greater things than what he is experiencing. There is a strange aura, one he has no wish to speak to - he fears it, the unknown._

Avatar_, a voice calls. It has followed him, and he breaths a sigh. Toph is safe - as safe as she can be, stuck inside a nightmare._

Thank you for joining me, Avatar_, he hears his name called again, and can do little but suppress a shudder as he recognises the voice. A creature approaches him, and the boy squeezes his eyes once more before opening them to the gloom. Before him is a spirit, ancient, that he knew he would meet again._

Face Stealer. What have you done to her!?_ he demands, his tone bland as his face slips into a mask. Beneath, he is seething, raw fury magnified by his thousand lives; magnified by one in particular._

I needed your attention_, he replies silkily, the many masks changing from female to female, so out of place with his timbre._

There are better- easier ways! Stay away from her!

Too late. The game has begun, and you know better than anyone about rules_, Avatar. The spirit laughs a coy, knowing laugh that sends a chill through the air._

Game? Why would a spirit like you play with a mortal?

I did not say it was her I was playing with - although unfortunately she has been forced to participate. Every game has rules - Miss Bei Fong understands this game better than anyone.

_The Avatar's ears perk up and he stands, mere millimetres from the spirit. His heart thumps loudly in anticipation and anxiety - and terror, for his friend._

How does Toph understand this game? Why is she playing with you?

_A hollow laughs sounds, coming from neither of them, and the Face Stealer frowns. He slithers around the Avatar, a smile dancing on his lips._

Miss Bei Fong has been playing this game much longer than any other before her. She has learnt to play the same way anyone learns anything. There is a technique, instinctive to you mortals.

_The boy looks up at the spirit, too numb with fear and dread for the answer to his next question to show emotion._

_What technique is that?_

_The Face Stealer lowers his head to gaze directly into the Avatar's eyes._

Failure.

* * *

**A/N: Well... there you have it, folks... Thoughts? You can yell at me for screwing you over again, too, I don't mind :)**

**I haven't started chapter 8 (at all) but I do know what's going to happen in it. Uhh... expect it to get a little darker, mostly remiscent of my mood lately. **

**Also, I'm doing Taang week, and so that has eaten up a fair bit of my time. I've accepted more hours at work (I literally have no weekend now) and school is taking up almost all my free time in the afternoons. I'm working on the story, but at turtle speed now. Hmm... do baby turtles move faster than adult turtles because they have more energy? And are turtles really as slow as everyone makes them out to be?**

**Anyway, you awesome people who have been sticking with me are really, honestly, the best.**

**Oh! And I need to thank AFL for betaing this (as per usual) and Minnichi, who has written (no joke) _THE_ best OC story I've ever read, for the cover art. You can see a bigger picture on Avatar Wiki, that one's been cropped ^_^**


	8. Camellias

_A/N: I am so, so sorry it's taken this long to update. I won't bother you with excuses, and I'll say more down the bottom, but I really hope you like this chapter, and please don't kill me for not posting it sooner..._

_On the plus side, during my two-month-and-one-day hiatus, this story was the Feature Fanon Series of July (well, still is). So, if you hop over to Avatar Wiki, you can see my name plastered everywhere (uh, I'm User of the Month, too... :D)_

* * *

Toph gradually became aware of several things. The first was how damp her fringe felt, plastered to her forehead as though her sweat was superglue. She felt a hand gently caress her cheek as pressure built up in her stomach. She mumbled something, squeezing her eyes shut as someone began shouting. She heard a name - her name - and suddenly the coldness that had surrounded her was gone, replaced by warmth. The pressure built in intensity and suddenly the muted sensations were thrown into sharp contrast. She threw herself upright so she was sitting as something forced its way up her throat. She heard another cry as whatever was in her mouth was expelled. From the sound one of her friends made, it had landed on them.

"Toph!" Katara's voice appeared from next to the blind girl as she spat, stomach convulsing. This time, Sokka managed to get out of the way as more than just food worked its way up from Toph's stomach. She could taste the metallic tinge of blood and iron, and for reasons unfathomable to the rest of the group, it was this alone that sent her panicking.

"Katara!" she cried plaintively, arms out and searching desperately for her friend.

"Toph! Toph it's okay, I'm here!" Katara called out, grasping the girl currently in hysterics next to her. She pulled Toph into a hug as she continued to gasp, sobbing into her friend's shirt. She wasn't aware of the stares from her friends, or the way Iroh frowned. She didn't notice Aang standing off to the side of the group, looking at her worriedly. All she could focus on was the warm body currently pressed against hers as a hand slowly stroked her back, rubbing circles between her shoulder blades in an effort to still the shaking and trembling.

"Shh… Shh, it's okay, Toph. We're here," Katara soothed, looking at Aang with wide eyes. "It's okay Sweetie…"

"Toph…" Aang approached his friend hesitantly. She took several breaths before turning her head a little, still refusing to let go of Katara. "Toph, wha- what was that?" he asked quietly - cautiously. Toph only shook her head, nestling it deeper into her friend's chest.

"Toph, would you like to be alone?" Iroh knelt down next to her, and for a moment the room stilled as they waited for her reaction. Toph pinched her eyes shut, her heavy breathing the only sound. Slowly, she nodded. Iroh gave a small sigh and delicately placed his hand over hers in a show of support. Zuko offered her a look of pity that she didn't see and left with Mai, a now-shirtless Sokka trailing not too far behind.

Katara sent Aang a questioning look as she noticed he hadn't made a move to leave. Toph's face was still pushed into Katara's chest, and the waterbender continued to rub her back in soothing circles.

"Are you okay, Sweetie?" Katara asked, gently rocking her torso back and forth calmingly.

Toph nodded slightly, murmuring into her friend. "What happened?"

Katara looked furtively at Aang. He swallowed visibly, before muttering in a small voice, "I kinda… got into your dreams…" There was a pregnant pause; no-one moved as they waited for Toph's reaction.

For her part, the blind girl merely sat there, unable (or unwilling) to allow Aang's words to sink in. It was impossible - he couldn't have.

"You can't do that- you _didn't_ do that. You didn't get inside my head." Toph shook hers rapidly as Aang took a tentative step forward.

"Toph… what happened? In there…." Aang bit his lip, but it was too late.

Toph roughly pushed herself away from Katara, stumbling to her feet. "What did you see?!" she demanded. Katara and Aang shared a glance as Toph paled again before swallowing it down. Her arms felt like lead, quivering like a tuning fork that had recently been rung. "Well?! Why were you in my head?"

Her breath came hard and fast, chest heaving with the effort not to turn hysterical again. She counted twelve breaths before Katara spoke up.

"Toph, you were having a nightmare… you were crying out and we couldn't wake you up. Aang, he put his hands on your head an-"

"-we don't know what happened. It was like I entered the Spirit World, but there were no people, just… memories. It was just black and I heard you…"

Toph looked towards Aang, her usual jade eyes still clouded over. "What did you see?" she repeated venomously, a bite in her tone that the couple had forgotten existed.

Aang glanced nervously at Katara, but Toph either didn't care or realise that she was listening.

"Don- don't you remember?"

Toph shook her head, the scowl dropping slightly as she murmured in a small voice, "I never remember…"

Aang avoided looking at her as he answered, "I approached you… we were lying in a field…" he coughed here, before continuing in a small voice, beet red, "we… we were naked…"

Katara glanced sharply at him, but he was too preoccupied with avoiding all eye contact with the females in the room. Toph had her mouth curled down, but her eyes were wide and her face had gone awfully pale.

"It didn't mean anything though!" he burst out loudly. "I mean- it did, but… no, wait. It didn't matter. It- it wasn't relevant. I didn't even notice!"

The couple watched as she, without even punching Aang, left the small room with a quiet, "Don't do it again."

Aang held out his hand for Katara, and she grasped it firmly.

"Look, Aang," she said in an undertone, "I don't know what is wrong with her, but if you have any idea now would be a great time to share. She's getting worse, and I can't stand it. She's in pain and she still won't tell us what's wrong. You're her best friend…" Katara looked at him a moment longer before she too walked out, collecting the soiled sheets as she went.

Aang dug the palms of his hands into his eyes before following her out. Sokka had changed clothes and was hugging Toph - presumably assuring her he wasn't angry that she had puked all over him. Suki and Mai had taken it upon themselves to cook breakfast - a meal of cinnamon jook and fresh fruit - and Katara had left to clean out Toph's sheets. Looking back, he noticed the blind girl in question had left the room with Iroh. Aang felt a small stab in his heart as he realised that she still refused to talk to them, but would spill everything freely to Iroh. Even worse was the fact that the tea-maker wouldn't tell him what was wrong with her.

He was still standing at the door when Toph returned, and as she sat at her place he moved sluggishly to the chair opposite her. There was a little dried blood on her lips, and she was still horribly pale. He left the conversation to everyone else while he kept an eye on her. Toph hadn't tried to talk to him at all - she wasn't even opening her mouth to eat. The conversation blurred into the background as he watched her stir the warm rice. Katara hadn't even returned to the table when she pushed it away and stood up.

"I'm going to bathe," she announced, jolting Aang out of his stupor. He blinked several times even as she walked away.

_Since when did Toph have baths?_

He watched after her stolidly, a slight ache in his chest.

* * *

Toph made her way slowly to the small room put aside for bathing, stopping briefly to collect a new dress and placing it in the bathroom before heading off towards the laundry. Katara was still in the small room gently scrubbing at Sokka's shirt with what Toph presumed to be a disgusted expression. The blind girl stripped off her bloodied shirt, leaving her in her bindings, and dunked it in the bucket of soapy water Katara was using.

"Hey, Toph. If you wanna just leave your shirt, I'll get to it after the sheets."

"It's okay, Katara. I can do it. I can do the sheets too if you want breakfast; it's probably getting cold."

She felt Katara look at her curiously, but Toph kept her head low as she worked. "No, it's fine Toph." Toph felt her smiling; she could practically hear it in the girl's nonchalant tone.

"Are you feeling okay?"

Toph glanced up sharply.

"I'm fine. Excited for tonight," she replied, trying to imbue as much feeling into the short sentence as possible.

"Toph, you aren't going tonight. No way."

Toph's eyes widened and her mouth formed the customary smirk that had for so long abandoned her features.

"You can't tell me what I can and can't do Katara. I want to go tonight and you can't stop me."

She heard Katara sigh, and once again had the strange feeling that she was being surveyed. "Toph, you pulled Aang into your head. You vomited up blood this morning!"

"I'm fine! The worst is over. You can't tell me what to do, Katara!" Toph stuck out her chin stubbornly, still working at scrubbing her clothes clean. She felt Katara move, and suddenly her hand was covered by the waterbender's.

"Toph, no. I can't tell you what to do. I can't force you; I'm not your mother."

Toph opened her mouth, but was quickly cut off by Katara.

"I'm not your mother," she repeated, "I'm your friend, and I'm worried about you. Zuko's confused because you've barely said two words to him, and I know that Suki has no idea what is going on. You run hot and cold and we don't know why."

Toph raised her head, although her eyes flickered to the floor in shame.

"I don't mean to…" she said quietly, her hands stilling. "I jus-…"

Katara peered at her friend as she trailed off. "Toph, we aren't going to force you to do anything you don't want to, and if you don't want to tell us, that's fine too. But we don't want you to think you can't talk to us. We won't laugh or judge. We're your friends, and you're my little sister. We look out for each other…"

Toph slowly felt herself being engulfed in Katara's warm arms. Guilt gnawed at her stomach - soon she wouldn't be able to suppress it. Sighing, she returned the hug.

"Fine, I'll stay here… Just promise me you'll take Iroh. He needs to relax."

* * *

Roughly tussling Toph's messy hair, Sokka beamed at her indignant expression.

"Sorry kiddo. We won't be out long," he grinned, and she gave a good-natured sigh.

"Well, perhaps I _am_ a little sick…" she muttered. The Water Tribe warrior gave a laugh and she punched him in the shoulder. "I will hurt you, I'm not too sick to do that," she threatened, effectively shutting him up.

"I'm sorry, Toph, but it's for your own good." Katara's voice penetrated the friendly bubble surrounding the two friends, and Toph's good humour dropped away.

"Yeah, yeah, I already agreed, didn't I?"

She felt Iroh approaching, his weight pressing more firmly on the ground as he was weighed down by his heavy robes.

"Toph, I can stay here. I'm getting too old for parties," he warned her calmly, although the honest smile she gave him was answer enough.

"I'm not a baby. I can look after the shop tonight - everyone's going to be at the party, so it won't be very busy. Now, go and have fun!" she said, shooing him. Iroh gave a rueful smile as he exited the shop, stopping next to Zuko. Toph waved goodbye as her friends turned and left, heading towards the palace.

"We'll be home in a few hours!" Katara called over her shoulder. Toph only kept waving, before turning around and walking back into the empty shop.

Alone, at last.

Again.

* * *

Despite the festivities - the beautiful decorations and fluid dancers that made everyone feel gorgeous - Katara couldn't get into the spirit of the party. She smiled and waved and engaged in conversation, but only when she had to, or Aang nudged her. Barely half an hour after they arrive, he was pulling her to the side and asking what the problem was.

"N-nothing," she stuttered, alarmed. "I'm fine."

Aang grabbed her hand, an imploring look in his eyes. "Katara, tell me."

Glancing around, the waterbender sagged a little. She felt Aang rub gentle circles on her hand, and now more than ever she wished that Toph had been more open.

"You're worried about her, aren't you?"

The question didn't surprise Katara, and she nodded. Glancing at Aang, she briefly wondered when it stopped being about him and her, and just started being about her.

"Maybe I should go and check up on her; she probably shouldn't be stressing..." Katara mumbled, shrugging. She caught the confused expression that crossed Aang's face, and her eyes widened as she realised what she said.

"I mean, she was sick this morning, and she didn't eat anything."

Biting her lip, Katara waited impatiently for Aang to give an answer, an opinion. She could see his face twitch and twist in thought.

"Well, I think we've almost finished here. Let's just find everyone and we can go back together."

"Oh, we don't have to do that!" Katara rushed to convince Aang that it wasn't imperative they leave, but he just waved her off with a smile.

"How about twenty minutes. That's about as long as it'll take to drag Sokka away from the food, and Iroh away from the tea, right?"

Katara smiled and nodded. "Thanks, Aang," she said, leaning in to kiss him. He got that giddy look on his face that she loved, and she couldn't help but do it again.

It's not like anything would happen in twenty minutes, right?

* * *

The tea shop was empty. Not that Toph had actually expected many people, but surely _someone_ decided to forgo the party? Apparently not, and so instead of brewing pots of tea for people, she had decided to sit in the courtyard.

She had always loved the outdoors - she was an earthbender, after all - but hated the stiff streets and imposing buildings of Ba Sing Se. When she suggested building a small garden (for personal or public use, whichever Iroh wanted), the old General had welcomed the suggestion with such optimism that within a week, a gorgeous little paradise had been built. Iroh barely used it, preferring to play Pai Sho with the customers, and so Toph generally had the little alcove to herself.

Breathing in the comforting scent of jasmine, Toph carefully placed two small candles and two sticks of incense at the base of a camellia plant, murmuring so quietly she wondered whether the Spirits really could hear her. Moving to a bench, made specifically of wood so that she could truly rest and ignore the world, Toph allowed her thoughts to wander. Not to any particular subject, she let the musky aroma of sandalwood mix with the average garden smells to create a sort of fog to cover her mind.

She didn't hear the impossibly light footsteps that trod her way, nor did she see as she reclined on the bench. It wasn't until the person knelt down and whispered her name that she realised anyone was there at all.

Toph felt her jaw slacken, and her chest tightened painfully. Eyes wide, she sat up and looked straight ahead as the person sat next to her.

It couldn't be real.

It couldn't be true.

Holding her hand out, almost robotically, she felt the young man grasp it. Of course it was a young man. Her young man. Only he would have the gall to appear on a night like this.

Standing up suddenly, Toph was aware of how her stomach had joined her heart as they twisted and convulsed inside her. She could see now, watch as he stood up and moved closer.

Running a thumb across her cheek, he whispered into her ear before suddenly, just like that, her lips were on his in a fierce embrace. Wrapping his arms around her small waist, the young man drew Toph in closer as she held onto his cheeks, desperate for his touch. She couldn't get enough of him, hands running over his face, through his hair as her lips met his at every turn.

Her hands roamed around his face, taking in the details she had tried to forget; she felt him do the same, his fingers gently walking up and down her back. Breaking her lips away, she rested her forehead on his, panting slightly.

"Why are you here?" she whispered, still running her fingers delicately over his face. Eyes, nose, cheeks. Lips.

"Can't a guy come and visit a girl he loves? Especially when she looks this beautiful?" he asked, and she could feel him smiling softly under her resting fingertips.

"A normal guy, yes. You can't," she retorted, before her face fell. "Oh." The little sound was no more than a whimper, when she suddenly threw herself back on the young man. Teeth clinked, noses bumped, but for the two teenagers it didn't matter. He responded with as much fervour as Toph strung her fingers through his hair. This time he was the one who broke the kiss.

"We shouldn't do this, Toph," he said quietly, rubbing her cheek with his thumb.

"Why not?" she argued softly. "There's so much- I just want some more time..." she murmured, her voice cracking at the end.

The gentleman took her hand and gently rubbed it, pulling her back to the seat.

"You know," he said, sitting down and pulling her onto his lap - after making sure that her feet could touch to ground, of course. "I could see you. I'm so, so sorry, Toph." He held her close against him as she rested her head in the crook of his neck.

"It wasn't your-"

"It was! I let it happen! I was supposed to protect you, no matter what - even if you didn't need it or want it, it was my duty to look out for you! I failed..."

Pushing herself up, Toph took her lovers' head in her hands and kissed him, her soft lips brushing away the tears that had begun to fall from his eyes.

"But it's fine now... We're together and everything is going to be fine! It's fine, it's good. Everything's going to get better and we'll be together and happy. I'm going to be happy..." She said the last part as though the thought had never occurred before.

"Only you can make your own happiness, Toph. Me being here has nothing to do with it," he told her slowly, pulling away. "I can't stay." He looked at her, waiting for the moment that she put the pieces together. He saw her eyes widen as beads of water formed at her bottom eyelids. She shook her head emphatically.

"No- no. You came here to say that you could stay. They let you come back and stay here with me; they let you stay with me. We'll be together again, you and me-" She had worked herself into a frenzy; on the verge of hysterics, Toph could do no more than sob into his shoulder while he stroked her back.

"Shh, it's okay. Let's just have tonight, okay? Can we just have tonight, Toph? For me?"

Lifting her gaze from his chest, red nose and eyes glistening, she kissed him again, before placing her forehead on his.

"For you, Tashi..."

* * *

_A/N: So. There you have it. Uh, a reviewer also asked whether we get to find out about Toph's scar - yes. Yes you will._

_I have a couple of people I want to thank for this. They've been really important to me. Don't know whether one of you will read it, but that's okay. _

_**Josh:**__ Thanks. You're so encouraging. You actually gave me some of the motivation to keep writing after my initial fails, and to keep writing Toph. Sorry I made her cry in this one, I know you hate that..._

_**Bray: **__Ah, Bray, where to start? Uh, you're epic. That might be appropriate. You're so fun and encouraging and awesome at OC stories. You really did give me that extra push today, so thanks. I needed it._

_**Pegelia:**__ Oh, my god, Pegs. You're probably the most important. With all the crap from the last few days, I probably wouldn't have even turned my computer on, but just knowing that there would be that message from you helped. There's so much more I want to say, but I don't know how to phrase it, so I'll leave it like that. You know, anyway..._

_So, thank you everyone. I will complete this story, no matter how long it takes, and I appreciate everyone who's ever reviewed, favourited or followed. Thanks! _


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